Diversity of Hip-Hop Music

In regard to (black-owned FM radio station) KACE’s (103.9) decision not to play music that it deems to be offensive (editorial, Nov. 2), as one of the hosts of a local hip-hop radio show, I have some concerns about its decision.

Not all of us in the hip-hop community believe in senseless killing, the degrading of women, etc. Most of us believe that these types of lyrics and messages can have a detrimental effect, particularly on inner-city youths. Unfortunately, most program directors, like the media and other people unfamiliar with hip-hop, tend not to expose themselves to all facets of this diverse music, but rather focus on a relatively small segment, usually gangster rap. Although KACE does not program a great deal of hip-hop, our concern is that those rap songs that will be removed from KACE’s rotation will not be replaced by other positive rap songs, but will instead be replaced by other types of music. Those listeners who want to listen to rap will simply leave KACE for other local stations that continue to program it.

KACE and other local stations would be of greater service to the community by doing what we have tried to do with our program. That is, within those programs that do play rap, have artists/celebrities, community leaders and listeners discuss what, collectively, can be done to resolve some of the problems that affect the community. I am certainly not naive enough to believe that our radio show is going to suddenly stop black-on-black crime and other problems; however, as with anything else, dialogue can give insight into causes and solutions.

The local radio stations that align themselves with inner-city culture, using slogans like “down with the streets” and “true to the streets,” have taken few aggressive steps to be catalysts to solve the problems that exist within their listeners’ communities. Given the financial resources that rap music brings to these stations, some would say that’s exploitation.

TRACY R. HILL, The Bomb Hip-Hop Radio Show, Studio City