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US put Hip-Hop under surveillance
Hotels staked out and lyrics scrutinised in battle to stop rap's violence.
Extensive article on the latest developments in a nationwide effort to place every aspect of hip-hop culture under state surveillance. Story from The Guardian (11 March 2004)
Rap artists and others associated with hip-hop culture have long complained of being targets of police harassment. New York, the birthplace of hip-hop music, has become the de facto center of hip-hop intelligence. A special NYPD unit is dedicated to hip-hop surveillance. Police officials downplay the reports. They insist hip-hop cops are a small part of the intelligence division's gang unit and that they simply try to preempt the kind of violence that seems to follow hip-hop artists. Story from AlterNet (8 July 2004) |
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| Read more: |
| Kris Kristofferson |
| Video interview with American folk singer Kris Kristofferson about his personal experiences with music censorship in USA - and in Russia |
| 31 March 2008 |
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| Shoot the Singer! Book |
| "Shoot the Singer! Music Censorship Today". The first worldwide presentation of contemporary cases of music censorship, with cases from i.a. Burma, Mexico, Middle East, France, Algeria, Zimbabwe, USA, South Africa, Turkey. Edited by Freemuse director Marie Korpe, published by Zed Books, May 2004. |
| 25 May 2004 |
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| Clear Channel: September 11 & Corporate Censorship |
| Corporate censor no. 1, or just the market leader? A collection of articles on Clear Channel - including the debate on the infamous list of 'potentially offensive songs', which Clear Channel suggested its 1.300 radio stations not to play following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US |
| 01 December 2002 |
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| Hip-Hop as a Political Tool |
| Five steps to using hip hop within a political framework and to developing a viable political constituency in the hip-hop generation |
| 08 June 2004 |
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| Wal-Mart is sued over rude lyrics |
| The parents of a 13-year-old girl are suing US supermarket giant Wal-Mart over a CD by rock group Evanescence that contains swear words. Wal-Mart has a policy of not stocking CDs which carry parental advisory labels |
| 11 December 2004 |
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| Beenie Man banned from MTV gig |
| Reggae star Beenie Man - recently accused of "lyrics that are an incitement to homophobic murder and violence" - has been banned from performing at an MTV concert after gay activists planned a protest over the singer's past lyrics |
| 04 September 2004 |
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| Venue expels Linda Ronstadt after political remarks |
| The singer was booed and removed from a Las Vegas casino for praising film-maker Michael Moore and his film Fahrenheit 9/11 during a show. Ronstadt called Moore a "great American patriot" and "someone who is spreading the truth" |
| 20 July 2004 |
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| Elton John attacks new 'era of censorship' in America |
| The British singer has attacked what he calls a McCarthy-like "era of censorship" in America. Entertainers who speak out against the Bush administration or its policy on Iraq, he claimed, risk scorn and damage to their livelihood |
| 17 July 2004 |
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| Rapper Jadakiss Blames Bush for Sept. 11 |
| "Why" - the new single by US rapper Jadakiss, with the words "why did Bush knock down the towers?" - has gotten him the most mainstream attention, and criticism, of his career. MTV and several radio stations are playing the edited version |
| 16 July 2004 |
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| Eminem to start censorship-free radio station |
| Eminem has personally come under fire many times for his lyrical content, with the FCC even penalizing radio stations for daring to play his music. The yet-to-be-named channel will feature Eminem and other artists hosting shows uncut and uncensored |
| 12 July 2004 |
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| Spot buys: The new payola? |
| Focus on the history of payola, including the current debate in the U.S. on record labels purchasing overnight advertising time at radio chains and using the time for repeated play of singles |
| 05 July 2004 |
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| USA: 'Crash into me, baby!' |
| America’s implicit music censorship since September 11. Read the chapter from 'Shoot the Singer!', by Eric Nuzum on how the September 11 terror attacks have affected freedom of musical expression |
| 03 June 2004 |
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| Singer 'strips' over censorship |
| Wearing a "nude suit" on stage to complain about censorship in the US, Alanis Morissette criticised a radio station for forcing her to change strong language in one of her recent songs |
| 06 April 2004 |
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| Clear Channel adopt new decency standards |
| Clear Channel Communications Inc. has adopted new "decency" standards to make sure that material its radio stations air conforms to local community standards. |
| 27 February 2004 |
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| Singer Lee Jones attacks Bush |
| American singer Rickie Lee Jones has attacked the policies of the Bush administration on her latest record - despite the potential risk to her career. “I usually reflect things totally internally. But I think what is happening in America is so disturbing to me, it becomes internal” |
| 07 January 2004 |
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| Viva Corporate Control!? |
| European independent music companies slam Universal’s alleged payola deal with Viva to guarantee video-time for Universals’ artists in return for payment |
| 12 December 2003 |
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| Chuck D/Public Enemy |
| Censorship, MTV and political music in the US. Video interview with Chuck D from Public Enemy |
| 16 July 2003 |
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| Music during wartime |
| An extensive collection of links to articles related to how the war on Iraq affected freedom of musical expression - from American country albums being burned to the rise in protest music |
| 10 June 2003 |
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| The day protest music died |
| Pop music played a crucial role in the national debate over the Vietnam War. By the late 1960's, radio stations across the country were crackling with blatantly political songs that became mainstream hits |
| 05 March 2003 |
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| Public Enemy vs MTV |
| MTV will not show the video for 'Gotta Give the Peeps What They Need' |
| 14 October 2002 |
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| 9/11: Is protest music dead? |
| Music used to be the dominant voice against war. Now it's easier to shut up and get paid. What's really going on? Extensive article on 9/11 effects and media concentration, by Jeff Chang |
| 16 April 2002 |
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| John Adams banned in Boston |
| Because of the September 11th terror attacks, the Boston Symphony Orchestra has decided to cancel "The Death of Klinghoffer", the both emotionally and politically sadly relevant John Adams opera |
| 25 November 2001 |
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| Militant Mind State |
| "Money Censors" The two rappers Spread Love (Omar) and M2 (Jaryd) from Militant Mind State (US) interviewed by Daniel Brown/Freemuse at Roskilde Festival, July 2001 |
| 12 September 2001 |
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| Patti Smith |
| From Tibet to the US: Video interview with Patti Smith on the importance on free musical expression |
| 17 August 2001 |
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| Wal-Mart: Market censors and market mechanisms |
| Background information on the biggest retailer in the US. Some Wal-Mart retailers refuse to carry CDs with the Parental Advisory Sticker, a few also go so far as to boycott artists if there is a 'dirty' word, a 'controversial' cover, or 'explicit' lyrics |
| 01 February 2001 |
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| The Market and Media Censors - panel debate |
| Panel discussion at the 1st Freemuse World Conference on Music and Censorship in Copenhagen in 1998 with Noam Ben-Zeev, Gerald Seligman, and Martin Cloonan. |
| 01 January 2001 |
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| Tao Rodriquez-Seeger |
| Video interview with singer and musician Tao Rodríguez-Seeger from USA who speaks about his personal experiences with music censorship |
| 07 March 2009 |
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