European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 09, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                2 live Crew Leader Luther Campbell on his sex raps if i was a White Man i d be a Genius. Stereotypes and wondering who will take the rap by Esther Iverel new Day to pinpoint the beginning of the current cultural wave of negative Black stereo types is difficult but by 1989, there was Al ready criticism of artists in the male dominated world of rap such As Slick Rick too Short and the group . For their sexist lyrics. Slick Rick for example included on his 1989 album the great adventures of Slick Rick the Cut treat her like a prostitute. The group . Was one of the first groups to refer to All women As bitches and hos in its seminal straight outta Compton. Even after . Disbanded Solo acts spawned by the group including rapper or. Dre continued the tradition. And As the first popular gangster rap pers . Also launched a barrage of violent images across the country when i m called off 1 gotta sawed off squeeze the trigger and bodies Are hauled off those lyrics were rapped in straight outta comp ton i think the gangster image is excellent says rap per  i think any image that makes Ameri Ca afraid of us is Good. Any. They have their images to make us scared of them so this is our image Well blow your expletive brains out but most of the violence in Black video and film depicts Black on Black crime. And rather than being afraid Young White America embraced gangster rap. 2 live Crew gained National notoriety in 1990, when As Nasty As they Wanna be was the first re Cord in the history of the country to be found obscene by a Federal ruling. In new York in the fall to promote his new porno graphic album in the nude 2 live Crew Leader Luther Campbell said he made a calculated business decision to sell sex raps because no other artist had. If i was a White Man i d be a Genius said Campbell a 33-year-old millionaire. It would be like wow he took Playboy out of the Magazine and put it of  nothing has had a greater Impact on the Overall music Industry in the past decade than music videos. Though record companies were slower to provide video budgets for Black artists and mtg was slow to give videos by Blacks airplay videos Are now an Inte Gral part of the marketing strategy for most artists. Today mtg jams which highlights Black music is one of the most Popolar programs on the Cable Chan Nel. Like radio mtg competes successfully against Black owned bet for Young Black listeners even though bet plays a wider variety of Black artists. Because popular images of Blacks have always been an emotional Issue in the Black Community music videos were subjected to scrutiny from the Start. Until recently for example the biggest complaint was the predominance of Light skinned Long haired women to the exclusion of Darker women reflective of the larger Black population. Now however the complaints Are More Likely to be about the preponderance of images that Are Vio Lent insulting to women or Glamor izing a criminal lifestyle. The Rev. Calvin Butts pastor of Harlem s Abys sinian Baptist Church a Leader in the Black Community s response to offensive messages says that com ing across three videos one by Luther Campbell Apache s gangsta Bitch and Ain t too proud to beg by tic in part spurred him to get involved. I was appalled at what i saw and heard says Butts sitting at his desk at the Church s office. It was so vulgar. I had seen some things in music be. Fore that did t quite jibe with my sensibilities but i knew that these things were doing important commentary. However what i saw that particular night had no socially redemptive value at  the Cable Channel that Butts came across video 0 Jukebox network commonly known As the Box plays videos that viewers have paid to see often ones that mtg and bet won t play. The perception that we Don t turn Down anything in t True John Rob Sori the Box s director of programming said from the station s Miami offices. We do get complaints. We have the ability to re move videos from a particular  there arc signs according to record executives that the Box is trying to clean up its act pressing companies to eliminate violence sex and illustrations of marijuana use. But unlike mtg which oper ates on advertisers dollars the Box draws a Large portion of its income from viewers. The Box is trying to generate More and Revenue which observers say could make it More vulnerable to the whims of re Cord companies. A lighter touch of rap comes from a tribe called quest. The band led by a tip violates just about every rap stereotype. The three members grew up in Middle class new York neighbourhoods and their music reflects that. Mixing soul Cool jazz and a hip hop beat with a tone that in t angry lets the group stretch behind rap Staples. On the move front a new wave of Black filmmakers is producing diverse films such As Mario Van Peebles Fosse Spike Lee s Malcolm and Charles Lane s sidewalk stones. But there is no doubt that Hollywood sees Green in what some directors Call Hood films entering on criminal elements of the Black Community. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy says Helena Echegoyen director of development for new line Cinema which released the film menace ii society. We have to look at the movies being made at what is making Money and you make movies like  some directors and Hollywood executives say that continued on Page 7 a top and the rap band a tribe called quest come in from a new York Middle class direction. Pages sunday january 9,1994