Rappers say lyrics about guns reflect reality

September 28, 1995
Web Posted at: 12:08 a.m. EDT

From Correspondent Mark Sheerer

(CNN) -- The days when pop songs were all "moon" and "June" seem long gone. Today, guns and gunplay are more likely to turn up, especially in rap songs. And while some critics say the gun element is overused, rap artists themselves often disagree.

[wallace] Chris Wallace, alias the "Notorious B.I.G.," says when he writes about guns, he's just writing about what he knows. Wallace says that if a rapper's early years were spent around guns, then he's just telling the truth of what he's seen. Other rappers agree, saying most artists are just trying to portray reality as they know it. (927K QuickTime movie)

"You got twelve-year-old kids here scared to go to school because there are other twelve-year-old kids with guns, and it's a reality," says rapper Heavy D.

"If there were no guns, we couldn't talk about it," Dr. Dre says. "You turn on TV, you see soldiers marching with guns. We only talk about things that's happening."

[blur] When guns are mentioned in rap lyrics, it's one thing. But when guns show up in the rap music videos, that's a whole other story. Increasingly, they're either electronically "airbrushed" out, or rejected by music video channels.

For example, MTV has no specific policy on gun imagery, but it does state the following: "MTV does not air videos that contain gratuitous violence. Violence cannot be glorified or shown as an acceptable solution to problems."

Black Entertainment Television has a similar policy. If they deem the videos to be violent or sexually explicit, the videos will be either re-edited or not run at all.

[source cover] Even though violence and gun imagery has been getting a lot of media attention, one writer says it's actually declining on the music scene. Bakari Kitwana wrote about guns and "gun culture" in a recent issue of the hip-hop magazine The Source. The same magazine featured a cover photo of a man with a gun held to his head. Looking back, Kitwana believes the magazine would probably not print a similar cover again.

"We would not do something like that today," Kitwana says. "I think that the imagery of guns was something that was done, I think, irresponsibly."

Some musicians are also trying to preach the issue of responsibility. MTV has produced public service announcements using R&B stars like Queen Latifah to heighten awareness of gun violence. The goal is to make their fans aware that violence of any kind is no solution for problems.

Rap stars are hoping the message will get through to kids, as well as adults.

Rappers say lyrics about guns reflect reality

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