State of hip-hop a conference focal point

Kirk Baird

Wednesday, May 29, 2002 | 8:27 a.m.

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To some, the parental-advisory warning label slapped on many CD covers is a sign of the times. To Minister Benjamin Muhammad, president of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, the advisory sticker is a sign of responsibility.

"What we mean by that is, we encourage artists, we encourage record companies to be responsible for the products and for the music, for the videos, for the lyrics and for the images that (they) produce. That is why over the last year, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network has worked with the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) in helping generate more understanding of the parental-advisory label," Muhammad said in a recent interview from his home in New Jersey.

The advisory label is just one issue Muhammad will address at the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network's workshop, "Building a Grassroots Constituency for Hip-Hop," Friday. The workshop is part of the fourth Emerging Artists and Technology in Music (EAT'M) conference going on today through Friday at MGM Grand Conference Center. Tickets are $200 for Las Vegas residents and are available at the third floor of the Conference Center. For more information visit eat-m.com.

The Hip-Hop Action Network was founded by rap guru Russell Simmons nearly a year ago in an effort to help rappers and their detractors, those who contend the lyrics promote violence and sexism, find common ground.

The network was greeted with open arms by both the recording industry and rap stars, such as P. Diddy, who attended the first national meeting in New York.

Since then the network has held regional workshops in Los Angeles and Miami, and its second national meeting is scheduled for next month in New York.

"We're building a hip-hop grassroots movement," Muhammad said. "The purpose of that is to promote greater understanding, greater dialogue of the positive value of hip-hop."

So far, he contends, the process is working.

"We've been at work for a year (and) made, what we feel, is good progress. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) rescinded itself, the fine it had put on a radio station for playing Eminem's music earlier this year. And the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), in its latest report, acknowledged that the recording industry was now making progress on the issue of marketing music which had explicit content. So, we're making progress."

Most of the big names in hip-hop also support the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, said gangsta-rap pioneer D.O.C., who is a scheduled speaker at the Las Vegas workshop.

At issue is the image of hip-hop.

"The direction of hip-hop as a culture is a very diverse one; however, I don't think there's been enough attention (paid) to the aspects of hip-hop that are positive as opposed to negative," said D.O.C., real name Tracy Curry, recently from his home in Dallas.

"We have to get out here in this world and let's be positive and make it happen for each other and our kids, because we can do it. We wield all the control when it comes to hip-hop music. We're great at it."

One of the purposes of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Muhammad said, was to help give rappers some of that control over their music and how it is perceived.

"I think the hip-hop community was misunderstood. As a result of the misunderstanding, some of the criticism by members of the government (and) some of the organizations was unfounded," he said. "But to the credit of the hip-hop community, rather than just get defensive, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network was founded as a proactive movement by the hip-hop community to deal with some of the criticism, not to be stagnant, but to continue the creativity of hip-hop and to move forward."

One of the initial fears of the parental-advisory warning, and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, was potential suppression of artists' freedom of expression.

Muhammad and D.O.C., however, both denounced censorship and said the network was not created as means to tell rappers what they could and could not say.

"We believe in protecting the right the First Amendment, we believe in protecting the right of artistic freedom and cultural expression," Muhammad said. "At the same time, with freedom comes responsibility."

Added D.O.C.: "I'm not saying I would want to change anybody's music or their position in music, just that we should kind of work together to make sure the kids understand about the do's and the don'ts, the goods and the bads about some of the information we're giving them.

"Music is going to affect people -- some positive and some negative. My stance today is not to try and tell you what to do or not to do within your music, that is your art, do as you feel."

The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network president and the rapper also agreed hip-hop is slowly moving away from the negative messages to those that are more uplifting.

For example, Muhammad cited today's top rap songs, which, he said, are primarily from artists who are avoiding the controversial lyrics in favor of more constructive messages.

"Hip-hop is evolving," he said. "If a new and upcoming artist really wants to make it in hip-hop, it's not good to repeat what somebody else has already done.

"What we're trying to say is, the next level is not to try and be more negative than someone, but to be more positive, to be more truthful and honest."