Washington yesterday:
Former gangsta rapper Master P, whose real name is Percy Miller, told a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing that he is now committed to producing clean lyrics… But rapper and record producer Levell Crump, known as David Banner, was defiant as lawmakers pressed him on his use of offensive language. “I’m like Stephen King: horror music is what I do,” he said in testimony laced with swear words. “Change the situation in my neighborhood and maybe I’ll get better,” he told one member of Congress…
At the hearing, music videos showing scantily clad women were played; music executives in dark suits testified on the uses of the “B,” H” and “N” words, and black civil rights leaders talked of corporate exploitation.
In the wake of these hearings, Congress has acted swiftly and decisively. Senator Robert C Byrd announced a $150 million appropriation for the Senator Robert C Byrd Center for Appalachian Hip-Hop Studies, but Senator Ted Stevens trumped him with a $400 million appropriation for the Senator Ted Stevens Institute of Alaskan Gangsta Rap on Gravina Island complete with a Notorious B.R.I.D.G.E. to Howhere.
Senator Craig tapped his foot but said it was no “Sweet Adeline.”