European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 18, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Don t believe the hype by . Considine Baltimore Sun not too Long ago a Friend complained of visiting a restaurant in Baltimore Only to be surprised in mid meal by a barrage of rap songs. It was not his idea of dinner music. Quot i always knew that someday i d find some music that i would hate As much As my parents hated Rock n Roll Quot he groused. He is not alone. Although rapes popularity is growing a at least one tenth of the releases on billboard s top-200 albums Chart Are rap records and even More Are rap influenced a there Are millions of pop fans for whom this music is nothing but noise. What is it about rap that gets people in such a lather to begin with its not a soothing sound. Unlike traditional pop rap is built around beats not melodies the Lyric in t crooned but chanted a sometimes barked a in an emphatic rhyming cadence while the instrumental backing ranges from disjointed repetitious sound bites to thudding drum machines. Even More annoying to some is that rap is an in your face kind of music a sound that is painfully hard to ignore. Think of its blaring aggressive approach As the Black teen equivalent to heavy Metal. Unlike the sound of Milder pop stars a Phil Collins or Anita Baker a the music of . Hammer 3rd Bass or heavy d. Amp the Boyz will not easily fade into the background. Of course if that were the Only problem people have with this music rap would seem no More onerous than the Elvis or beatles records that inspired parents to scream Quot turn that garbage Down Quot a but for Many volume is the least of rap music a offences. Instead what concerns these critics Isnit rapes sound but its fury. Florida gov. Bob Martinez has picked his states prosecutors on the rap act 2 live Crew arguing that the group s album Nasty As they Wanna be violates state obscenity Laws. A Georgia record store owner was arrested on obscenity charges for Selling a copy of that album to a police officer he was later acquitted. But police in Sarasota fla., arrested a record store clerk last month for Selling the album to an 11-year-old girl. Jeffrey Sinesky civil rights director for the anti defamation league fearing that Quot hatred is becoming hip Quot in today s pop music denounced rappers Public enemy both for an interview in which a non rapping group member told the Washington times that jews were responsible Quot for the majority of wickedness that goes on across the Globe Quot and for alleged anti semitism on the single Welcome to the terror dome. Tipper Gore a founder of the watchdog group the parents music resource Center lambasted rap artist ice to for inciting violence against women citing As evidence shut up be Happy which allegedly described using a flashlight to have sex with a woman. Most chilling was a letter in which Milt Ahlerich an assistant director of the Fri complained that a song by the rap group . Quot encourages violence against and disrespect for Quot Law enforcement officers. What was the name of that Tuneff tha police. Is rap really a menace do these records reflect a culture of violence in which murder sexism and shootings Are considered an acceptable part of life is this music poisoning the minds of youths As one recent rap record put it Quot done to believe the  obviously there is objectionable material on some rap records a but certainly not All. However much critics such As Newsweek a Jerry Adler might complain about a Quot culture of attitude Quot with its Quot ugly Macho boasting Quot and the controversial new York rap group Public enemy has just released a new album a fear of a Black planet Quot homeboys talking trash Quot the majority of rap tunes concern themselves with nothing More controversial than Romance. Many even make a Point of delivering a positive message often by emphasizing the importance of african american culture. Sure some of the stuff is sexually explicit even viciously misogynist. Some of the titles on 2 live Crews album Are unprintable while albums by too Short Scholly d and digital underground Are  straightforward about How these Guys get their jollies. But obscene not hardly. Most rap is As tame As anything in the exploitation flicks on cinemas or Hob much less what runs on the letters Page in Penthouse. As for ice to a episode with the flashlight condemning rap on the basis of one line makes As much sense As trashing the works of William Faulkner because a character in Sanctuary is raped with a Corncob. Some rap relies on violence and curse words for its Impact.  straight outta Compton is riddled with expletives and packed with references to shootings and other Street crime. The same goes for raps by ice to above the Law and eazy a. But there a just As much cursing a and even More violence a in widely seen films such As die hard red heat lethal weapon and Beverly Hills cop. Why Arentt the Public watchdogs up in arms about that because unlike the folks in Hollywood the people who make and sell rap records Are for the most part Young Black men. And civil rights Progress to the contrary most older White americans find it frightening to hear such rage in the voices of Young Black men. Such fear is a persistent subtext in adlers Newsweek essay and its Quot us Quot is. Quot them Quot argument Quot them Quot being underclass youth just As it was the unspoken explanation behind the Central Park Quot Wilding Quot incident last year in which a White woman was attacked by Black youths who were alleged to have chanted rapper tone locks wild thing after their arrest. That White terror is not exactly a secret in the rap Community. Many rap acts take it As a Given a take As an example the title of Public enemy a new album fear of a Black planet a and say that Many critics Are reacting out of sheer prejudice. It is not hard to understand Why rappers feel that Way. Take  Futha police. The group Calls it a revenge fantasy and considering that one in four Black males ends up being arrested tried or jailed in his lifetime its easy to see the Appeal. Moreover when police groups take the song literally and try to prevent . From performing As happened throughout the groups last tour that seems to prove the Point. Still there a a difference Between talk about killing cops a or having sex or robbing Banks a and the act itself and that distinction must be kept in mind. Many rappers use Tough talk As a Means to diffuse tensions not to stir up trouble. But until we learn to treat these records As they Are intended we May have to operate under a Cloud of mistrust and ill intention that helps no one. Ice to summed it up in the subtitle of his last album Freedom of speech. Just watch what you say. And a situation like that will not be music to anyone s ears. I / % if it a Public enemy is Back for the attack by Robert Hilburn los Angeles times armed with such provocative song titles As War at 33, 911 Isa joke and Burn Hollywood bum on its new fear of a Black planet album the controversial rap group Public enemy is clearly still fighting the Power. But the new York group whose it takes a nation of millions to hold us Back was named Best record of 1988 in a Village voice poll of the nations pop critics dilutes some of the albums Early momentum by unnecessarily defending itself against recent criticism. The attitude May be understandable from a group that has been under Media scrutiny and attack since one of its members professor Griff made anti semitic remarks in an interview with the Washington times. The group s defense is presented most artfully in the angry impassioned song Welcome to the terror dome. Public enemy has defended itself previously but within the context of the music. These references to fhe controversy a mostly in the form of sound bites from a radio Call in show a detract from the album s opening assault by suggesting that the group s personal trials Are As important As the larger issues of injustice and Black Pride that Are subsequently raised. Once Public enemy moves into that More important and confrontational social commentary the album rivals the Force and the Power of it takes a nation. There Are elements in fear of a Black planet that will be controversial including the Call for reparations to Blacks for years of slavery and oppression. But there is nothing that should renew the anti semitic alarm. Group Leader Chuck d. Real name Carlton Ridenhour has repeatedly denied in interviews any anti semitic feelings and Griff Richard Griffin has apologized for the Washington times comments. He recently left the group for a Solo career. Two of the most explosive songs on fear a terror dome and fight the Power from Spike Leeds film do the right thing a have been available As singles. Of the new material the most compelling tracks Are Pollyea Naraka a look at values and tension among Black men and women in their search for mates and Burn Hollywood Burn a slap at the movie worlds treatment of Blacks on screen and off. Equally effective Are who stole the soul the song about reparations and the title track which decries what Chuck d. Sees As the consequences of White european cultural domination in America and throughout much of the world. One clearly positive change in Public enemy is a healthier attitude in revolutionary generation toward women than was found in the groups debut album to. Bum Rush the show. The secret in maintaining commercial and artistic credibility in the fast changing rap world is keeping the music fresh and Public enemy recognizes that Challenge in fear. There Are traces of Semi Novelty pop 9111s a jokes Moody almost psychedelic exercise Pollyea Naraka and even a bit of soul ii soul silk Ines but the heart of Public enemy s attack continues to be the full throttle aggression that characterized its i two albums. In Many ways Public enemy is the rap equivalent of the clash. Like that British Punk entry Public enemy moves in strange sometimes counterproductive ways that hint at possible set destruction but its flame Burns incredibly Bright Page 16 a a a the stars and stripes wednesday april 18,1990