Why Don't You All Just F-F-F-Fade Away?

Russell Simmons wants to clean up rap music. Come on now. No snickering. He's serious. "We recommend that the recording and broadcast industries voluntarily remove/bleep/delete the misogynistic words 'bitch' and 'ho' and the racially offensive word 'nigger'," said Simmons in a statement along with Benjamin Chavis as co-chairmen of an organization called the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network. You wanted action after Don Imus shot off his mouth while his foot was still squarely planted in it, and you've got it.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Mister Simmons was singing - or rapping - a different tune. On April 13, he said offensive references in hip-hop "may be uncomfortable for some to hear, but our job is not to silence or censor that expression." What caused this somewhat abrupt change of face? Perhaps it has something to do with New York City declaring a symbolic moratorium on the so-called N-word in February. Maybe it is connected to the awareness created by the wake of Don Imus' infamous last words. Or could it be that the hip-hop industry is moving to police itself before the "powers that be" descend from above as they did in 1984 when Tipper Gore started really listening to the lyrics of "Darling Nikki". The resulting circus, The Parents Music Resource Center, resulted in the "voluntary" labeling of recordings for containing objectionable lyrics. It brought together such visionaries as Frank Zappa, John Denver, and Dee Snider.
Popular music has always been trouble. Rock and roll was a euphemism for "doin' the nasty" way back in 1934, and seventy-plus years later, things aren't getting any less tense. What was offensive thirty years ago seems pretty tame now. Just ask Pat Boone, who provided "clean" versions of Fats Domino and Little Richard for the 1950's and later gave us safe alternatives for Led Zeppelin and Guns 'n' Roses. Music is, after all, a business.
Simmons maintains that he has no interest in limiting anyone's freedom. "Our internal discussions with industry leaders are not about censorship. Our discussions are about the corporate social responsibility of the industry to voluntarily show respect to African Americans and other people of color, African American women and to all women in lyrics and images." Now, I'm just wondering if that includes Tipper.