Snoop Dogg vs. Imus: And the Freedom of Speech debate

Critics have compared rapper Snoop Dogg to Don Imus. This made the Dogg mad:

“It’s a completely different scenario,” said Snoop, barking over the phone from a hotel room in L.A. “[Rappers] are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We’re talking about ho’s that’s in the ‘hood that ain’t doing sh–, that’s trying to get a n—a for his money. These are two separate things. First of all, we ain’t no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC [the cable network home to Imus] going hard on black girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them mutha—–as say we in the same league as him.”

Personally I don’t give a rats ass who says what. I am a rabid believer in freedom. Imas saying what he did (as racist as it was) is no worse for our country than the ramblings of Pat Robertson or Ann Coulter, on strictly Utilitarian grounds. But, Snoop has a point.

The key difference as I see it (to take Snoop’s argument farther than he did) is that art is something separate from the Shock-Jock radio programming that Imus, and Howard Stern do.

All art (that is any good) has a tendency to express things, not as they should be, but as they are. I don’t mean realism, I mean that it brings out in the audiance member or the viewer an authentic emotional experience.

Snoop is particularly good presenting to his audience work with an honest flavor, and it’s one of the reasons he has such staying power. Certainly there are plenty of crappy rappers who make bad art, just as there are in all fields of art (just go to a poetry reading to see what I mean). But, that is no reason to advocate defacto censorship. In-spite of what the Republican white media says about the Dogg’s lyrics, they are not PRIMARILY sexist in nature. Unlike Righties such as Michelle Malkin, I grew up listening to the guy on a regular basis, and actually know his work. It isn’t fundamentally sexist. It’s fundamentally art.

(I realize that many white people would not agree with calling ANY rap music art. I have always found this to be a kind of subtle racism, as they have no problem calling ACDC art, or Lynyrd Skynyrd, or any other ridiculous, empty, rock band that comes along. The fact is they are biased against black music in general, as any cursory examination of their CD collection would show, and rap makes an easy target.)

But, the concern here among the public is not about what is and what is not art. It’s about whether obscenities coming out of the mouths of one group of people are valued as worse than those from the mouths of another group. I think the facts are clear: If the words are the same, but the response in the victim is higher in one case over another … then clearly the value of the hate speech is worse when coming from the first group. AKA, Snoop Dogg is right to be offended as a Black man being compared to a white man, even if they say the same things.

In principle, in an Ideal world, this fact wouldn’t be true. But, in an ideal world, there would be no hate speech, because there would be no hate. This is the real world. And a Black guy saying “nappy headed ho” is far different than a white dude saying, “nappy headed ho”.

(Photo by David Stroud)

I forgot to mention that I also posted this on my other blog Good Tithings

Nice article. Welcome.

One of the main differences that I see between Snoop and Imus is that Snoop's references to "ho's" are abstract, whereas Imus was referring to a very specific group of people who had earned national attention by simply doing their job well. I think that makes a big difference.

P.S. Does anyone really consider AC/DC to be art? I'm a big fan of hard-rock and metal, but I can't stand AC/DC. I'm always dissapointed when they come on the radio--especially "Hell's Bells", the opening of which I confuse with "for whom the bell tolls".

Yes, I think AC/DC is art. I'm a fan of their music, sorry.

Ministry NO W.

I guess that means that somebody likes it.

Adam, Thanks for the welcome. I was pretty excited to have stubbled across this website. I've got a Libertarian heart, but grew up in a staunchly Democratic Family, so the combining of the two, though seemingly strange is not a strange thing to me. In fact, my grandmother is such a partisan Dem that upon hearing my Aunt say that she "might" not vote for Bill Clinton in 1996, all out slapped her!

By the way, I agree with your point about the abstraction of the word "ho's".

Logan, As for ACDC being art, I wasn't trying to say that they weren't. In fact I would begrudgingly say that what Brittney Spears does is "technically" art. It's just either bad art (subjective), or art I wouldn't get into (ACDC). My point was that I FAR too often hear people completely dismiss Rap as art at all.

Certainly the stuff on the radio (in any genre) is primarily composed of crap, but Rap like any other genre has many a great artist (Mos Def being an obvious choice).

...but if you actually look at the lyrics, it is hard not to call for some form of censorship or restraint. Check out these examples from just one such "artist":"

"My mind at times
May dwell on sex
If someone's rating dreams
Then most of mine I guess are double X

Like bait that wriggles
And it makes catfish bite
A lady jiggles
And my eyes gotta light
Upon so sweet a sight

And if I shake
Break out in spots
Don't fret, it's not swine fever dear
Your swine has merely got the hots"

"Oh, yeah, I'm drinkin' again, it's always the same
That same old story
After the kicks there's little old mixed-up me
Tryin' to lose a dream that used to be
Look at me, I'm drinkin' again, drinkin' all over town
Yeah, I'm drinkin' again"

"On the sidewalk, one sunday morning
Lies a body, oozin life
Someones sneaking round the corner
Could that someone be mack the knife"

"She loves the free, fresh wind in her hair
Life without care
Shes broke, but its ok
She hates california, its cold and its damp
Thats why the lady is a tramp

Doesnt like dice games, with sharpies and frauds
Wont go to harlem, in lincolns or fords
Wont dish the dirt, with the rest of those broads
Thats why the lady is a tramp"

This particular rapper goes by the handle "Chairman of the Board". His association with "gangstas" was well known, he abused and objectified women, was known to take drugs and alcohol, had several brushes with the law and often was involved in fights, usually associated with gang activity believed to be known as "The Rat Pack". The title of the "songs" these sample lyrics are lifted from are "Mack the Knife", "Drinking Again", Lady is a Tramp", and "I love my wife". I cannot imagine the corrosive effect these lyrics will have on the generation growing up listening to them. It is enough to cause me to question my libertarian commitment to free speech.

This isn't a freedom of speech issue. Imus' boss fired him for chasing away their sponsors and the government didn't have anything to do about it. Maybe this would be a problem for certain libertarians, but not this one. Maybe Imus will end up on satellite (pay) radio, which is currently out of reach of government regulators and advertisers (or maybe he'll retire).

The American Civil Liberties Union—Protecting the Bill of Rights…except for Amendments 2, 9, and 10!--nonluddite