Founder of MemphisRap.com responds to Hip-Hop Critics and Three 6 Mafia boycott
April 26, 2007 (PRLEAP.COM) Entertainment News
Memphis, TN - At a time when most publishers are jumping on board the 'bash train' of Hip-Hop, Director and Founder of MemphisRap.com, Hosea Mays, Jr "M Town Luv aka M Town," has responded with a written column in regards to the recent attacks by critics and others against Hip-Hop entitled "Rap/Hip-Hop: You Can't Censor the Truth." In the column, Mays "M Town" speaks not only about and for the rap/hip-hop community, but also he speaks to the parents of the hip-hop generation. Mays even took it as far as throwing out a challenge for anyone who wishes to debate or talk with him about the issue.When asked what does he think about the recent uproar on rap/hip-hop and about some of the industry leaders getting common words seldom used in rap/hip-hop songs censored, Mays "M Town" stated, "I think that it's ok that words that are soundly profane be censored, however I don't agree on the attacks or the blames on hip-hop for the problems in the world today. I believe political and community leaders have far greater things that they should be pointing out and dealing with other than a couple of slang terms used in hip-hop. We have much greater things to address and a much bigger picture, but we won't get there attacking slang words that the next generation begins to use. Be it similar to profanity or not. I do however agree with the latest suggestions that community leaders that have knowledge on the subject address the slangs words considered to be profanity over the public airwaves. I don't believe that someone that is not familiar with today's generation's language or dialect can speak on what's wrong or right, or good or bad when they don't understand the language."
Mays "M Town" is one of many who have taken the initiative to speak up on the issue and address those attacking the genre and looking to seek out the real culprit behind the problem in the community while utilizing hip-hop as a voice of the community. "They are trying to censor the biggest voice that we have in the community, not only is it our voice outbound, but it is also the voice that speaks to us as well. When you go to clean up you don't sweep the dirt under the rug or make a person think that its clean. You address the problems head-on meaning censoring the words would only be sweeping the problems under the rug. Hip-Hop is not the problem but sometimes it can be the message about the problems," stated Mays.
Locally the Memphis based publisher addressed a columnist in the city's biggest newspaper owned by Scripps "The Commercial Appeal" when she called for a boycott to boot rap music group Three 6 Mafia from the city's largest music event, "Memphis In May: Beale Street Music Festival', which attracts hundreds of thousands of people every year. "I don't think she means any harm, but I do think she can cause more harm than she's trying to prevent," says Mays.
"We don't attack the unknown, we learn from it and pass what we know on to our kids, the next generation. Three 6 are performers just like Arnold Schwarzenegger was a performer in Terminator, or any other actor is in any horror movie. Rappers are business men and women just like the actors and producers who make vicious movies in the entertainment business, just as video games creators are also business men and women in the gaming business. If kids are getting the wrong message, first of all, they should be learning from their parents that it's not real and second of all, before the age of thirteen, they should not have access to parental advisory CD's without the parent's permission and this goes for the internet also, because there is software available for internet surfers to monitor those thirteen and under. I know it's a very touchy subject but we all know it's the internet age (we can't hide the truth) and kids are subject to abusive music (far worst than hip-hop), porn, violence, drug paraphernalia, pedophile advances and everything else not good for them, but Hip-Hop is not the predator. We, the parents, have to prepare our kids and talk with them so they know right from wrong and no matter what they are subject to, they make the right decisions," Mays continues.
"What it boils down to is that the younger and next generation has and probably will always offend the older generation through its fashion, its look, its talk and its attitude. People of the 70's are offended by people of the 90's and people of the 90's will probably be offended by the people of the 2010's," stated Mays "M Town".
The full article "Rap/Hip-Hop: You Can't Censor the Truth" where the founder of MemphisRap.com, M Town Luv, responds to Hip-Hop Critics and the Three 6 Mafia boycott can be found at http://www.memphisrap.com/community/article1325.html.