COLUMN: Language and 'kultcha'

From Dave Crystal's "Crystal Clear," Fall '96 From Dave Crystal's "Crystal Clear," Fall '96The 'explicit language' used by membersFrom Dave Crystal's "Crystal Clear," Fall '96The 'explicit language' used by membersand fans of America's rap kultcha' shouldFrom Dave Crystal's "Crystal Clear," Fall '96The 'explicit language' used by membersand fans of America's rap kultcha' shouldbe judged in context, not historically. From Dave Crystal's "Crystal Clear," Fall '96The 'explicit language' used by membersand fans of America's rap kultcha' shouldbe judged in context, not historically.Rap culture and the hip-hop movement have recently gained immense popularity among many of America's youths. This popularity has resulted in much criticism from certain sectors of society. Rap's content and word usage have both been condemned as "violent," "vulgar," and "degrading." Rap's detractors have called for everything from the removal of a few select words from various songs to the music's total abrogation. But I contend that censoring rap is counterproductive, for such a repressive action will only destroy the very sense of freedom that rap instills in its listeners. These "explicit" words are not uniformly defined, and may mean different things to different people. Words like "bitch" and "nigger" have no clear-cut single meanings anymore. Rap critics who are ignorant of rap slang are not aware that these words have changed in meaning and no longer have the same connotations that they once had. More often than not, words that are deemed "socially unacceptable" are used not in an attempt to be vulgar and insulting, but as a means of expressing feelings and attitudes that would otherwise have to be suppressed. We as a society must be careful how much we curb freedom of speech, if at all, especially since speech is both an intellectual and an emotional mode of expression. Often words in rap music are spoken for their rhythmic and spiritual effect rather than to convey a specific idea about people. I certainly do not believe that when rappers use controversial words and slang terms, they intend these words to portray the images they may have originally represented. To say that these words represent a concrete and uniform concept is pedantic and narrow-minded, considering how much our language has changed and continues to evolve through the years. "Four-letter" words are not always bad. Indeed, they are sometimes good, because they possess a power held by no other type of word -- the power of emotional release. Anyone who has ever been in a heated conversation can understand the emotional impact of these words. After uttering them, you may feel as if a burden has lifted from your shoulders, whether or not your predicament has changed. In essence, you then feel free -- and right there is the allure of rap, a feeling of freedom. This is not just a freedom of expression, but an emotional, psychological, and often physical freedom. Rap helps channel frustration and stress; simply by listening to its rhythmic beats and perhaps dancing around the room you can feel your worries begin to abate. Some rap critics philosophize that the surge in domestic crime is directly related to the increase in the number of rap listeners. However, if this is even remotely true, the upswing is more due to the context in which rap's "explicit lyrics" are used -- as in "Kickin' niggaz down the steps just for rep" ("Ready to Die," Notorious BIG) -- than it is to the words themselves. I concede that there are some uses of "offensive" words in rap that should be edited, but just as the mere presence of these words does not give them their meaning, it also does not justify their total censorship. Besides, the kinds of people who would commit crimes such as rape and battery would commit these crimes regardless of the type of music to which they listen. The only plausible argument rap critics may have is that rap may influence someone who already has the desire to commit a crime. Again, however, this is not the result of the words themselves, but the context in which they are used and the individual way in which they are interpreted and experienced.