onvention, what he calls his mother he says, "I call her a’ woman', but I'm not f---ing my mother. If I was f---ing you, you'd be a bitch." He then apologized for what he said to the reporter. (Raspberry A21) "If you don't give a f--- about a bitch/ Then you're rolling with the row", are lyrics from Doggystyle. If all people were to think like this what respect would women have? Some say, "If we don't have respect for our women, why should anyone else?" (Raspberry A21). Do these rappers think that they own women and can treat them any way they want to? If this is the way some people think, that the own women and can disrespect them then what footsteps are the children going to follow in. Young children and adults, 14, 15 and 16 years of age, who listen and memorize these rap songs think that it is acceptable behavior. "Gangsta rap" is hardly the only source of violence, but it is a potent one. Not only is the music violent but the rappers lifestyle is also. Many rappers have rap sheets and young people see that and say, "Hey, their rich and money talks." Today most young people think that if a person is rich and famous they can get away with anything. Not all rappers have run-ins with the law, but the ones that do are very well known.

Death Row Records, the top producer of rap music, has been under a lot of fire not only by Dolores Tucker, but by Bob Dole and others also. Death Row Records has recently had its own wake-up call. The companies CEO, Marion "Suge" Knight, has recently been arrested for violated his probation and is in jail. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon in 1992 and was sentenced to five years probation plus 30 days in a halfway house. A hearing later will decide on what kind of sentence he will receive. Knight could face up to five to nine years in prison if convicted. The company may suffer a great loss because no business actions or even phone calls are allowed from prison. Before he began his fortune as CEO he was an All-American defensive end and was on the dean's list at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He then played pro-football for the Los Angeles Rams but later quit to become a concert promoter. Soon Hawkins 6 after this his run-ins with the law started with his arrest for trafficking guns. After other run-ins with the law Knight began recording "The Chronic," which refers or a type of marijuana, with Dr. Dre. Interscope Records, who wanted him to produce records, then approached him. He negotiated a $10 million deal to start up Death Row Records (Cheevers A1). Now Death Row Records is known as the only label that can do whatever they want. To some listeners Death Row's music is powerful and is also reality, but to others their music celebrates drugs, murderers and misogyny. The FBI says that this rap label has ties to gangs and drugs. They are still trying to determine whether the company was involved in cocaine trafficking, money laundering and racketeering (Leeds B1). The FBI has been investigating Death Row Records and the individual members. Death Row Records is not the only record company to promote rap, Time Warner has also been producing rap records. Time Warner has pledged to do something about obscene and rude lyrics in rap music. The new chairman of Warner Music Group, Michael J. Fuchs, was asked to talk with critics of rap lyrics and to work with other record companies to come up with some regulations for warning labels (Landler D2). Warning labels have been placed on albums with provocative lyrics, but these warnings do little to prevent the lyrics from reaching children. The chairman and chief executive claim, "Music is not the cause of society's ills." That may be true but do they have an influence on the people that listen to the music. Many say yes and many say no. An experiment done by James D. Johnson shows that violent rap tends to perpetuate the acceptance of the use of violence and an anti-education mind-set. He thinks that this kind of music should have s

Some topics in this essay:
Fat Boys, Row Records, Raspberry A21, Cop Killer, Wright Easy-E, Kevin Powell, Maxine Waters, Amendment Congress, Profitt M3, Suge Knight, death row, death row records, row records, rap music, explicit lyrics, gangsta rap, record companies, run-ins law, dr dre, bitches hos, art form, drug dealer user, vibes police officials, marroitt hard-core a1+, concern children listen,