Music Sensorship Essays - Grammy Award For Best Rap Album

Music Sensorship If hes to be taken literally, then so is Britney Spears invitation to hit me baby one more time, says one article in Advocate Magazine. They are speaking in reference to the rapper Eminem one they heavily talked-about topic of music censorship. What is music censorship? There is a great deal of confusion (one everybodys part) as to what freedom of expression is in the US, and how it applies to music. Everybody knows that there are radio stations, religious and community groups, retailers, and record labels that censor musical artists in some way today. Obviously not everyone wants to hear what certain artists want to say, but how far should censors go? How far can they go before taking away right of free speech, freedom of expression, or any other first amendment rights? Lets figure out. The first amendment states: Congress shall make no law representing an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and petition the government for a redress of grievances. Notice that the law applies only to the government, its laws, or its agencies. Not to any religious groups, retailers, or record companies. Hard to believe, but only in rare cases is what we call music censorship actually a violation of civil rights. For any group besides the government to censor music is entirely legal. In other words THEY determine what is best for YOU based on what THEY think. Pretty scary to think about especially here in America. Isnt it supposed to be the land of the free? What do you think about this? Not sure what to think? I took a survey of your peers ages 15-18, male and female, asking them this question: Do you think rap and/or alternative music negatively affects teens? One out of twenty-five people said yes. Now I can guess what parents would say to this survey. They would say that we are too young to know better, but there are adults out there that agree with us. An organization called R.O.C. (Rock Out Censorship) has been aggressively opposing censors of popular music since 1989. It was founded to act as a voice of music fans against censors. Guess where they are based in? Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. Right here in our very area there are people fighting against music censorship. The overall attitude of R.O.C. is summed up in these words that Ben Franklin said in 1759, They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Do you agree? They do and so do I. To hear about music censorship today, all you have to do is turn on MTV or your local news. You will hear stories of people such as Eminem everyday. Basketball star Allen Iverson has faced suspensions from the NBA for his recently released album. Members of Supreme NTM, one of the most popular rap groups in France, are facing jail time for their lyrics. One of their tracks Police was charged with the crime of an outrage against public authorities. Their case is yet to be determined. Thankfully here in America nothing like that can happen, but for how long will it stay that way? Do you think what is happening to NTM is right? Do you a musical artist should be able to go to jail for their music? Like I mentioned before nothing like that can happen here in America, but Ill tell you what can happen: Lets say youre a rapper looking to make it big. You have some talent, and you record a few tracks. You submit your tape to several record companies, but many turn you down because of content. They say you have talent, but you are too vulgar for their style. You finally get a record deal and record an album. When you look to release that album you turn to the biggest retailer of popular music in the US, Wal-Mart. Unfortunately they tell you that they wont stoke your album because it holds a parental advisory sticker. So then some other retailers pick up your album and you get lucky, people