Al Sharpton To Wash Out The Mouths Of Hip-Hop

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Site Last Updated: 7:12 PM EDT, July 8, 2008	Make BallerStatus Your Homepage

Published: Monday - June 4, 2007
Words by Allen Starbury

Al Sharpton
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Al Sharpton and organizers campaigning to clean up the lyrics of hip-hop music are collecting thousands of bars of soap -- and like your mother used to do when you had a potty mouth, they plan to wash hip-hop of its sexist lyrics, one mouth at a time.

In an effort called SOAP (Stop Offensive and Abusive Lyrics in Hip-Hop through Personal Responsibility), Sharpton and the city of Detroit, which was the second stop in his national fight against offensive language in the genre, on Saturday (June 2), wants to wash the genre clean.

"We are going to wash hip-hop, one mouth at a time," Tara Young, a local Detroit organizer, told the Detroit News.

Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Horace L. Sheffield III, pastor of New Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit, talked about the effort Saturday outside the Motown Historical Museum.

The campaign began last month in New York City with Sharpton challenging the recording industry on its lyrics (see "Al Sharpton Leads March Demanding 'Decency' In Hip-Hop Lyrics"), and Detroit was the latest stop, but organizers revealed they plan to soon take their efforts to Los Angeles.

"The 1960s were the Motown sound and James Brown," Sharpton said as he stood in front of the museum. "But they did not call us the 'N' word and they did not degrade women."

Sharpton went on to say that it made sense to promote the hip-hop campaign in Detroit because national NAACP leaders plan to conduct a mock funeral for the "N" word during the group's convention in the city in July (see "The NAACP To Hold Funeral For 'N' Word").

The bars of soap organizers collected will be later donated to shelters and halfway houses for women, organizers said.

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COMMENTS (8)

Weezy Fna Says:
Tuesday - June 10, 2008 at 11:00am

Rappers are jus "Misunderstood"(Carter III track 17)...

G. Malone Says:
Thursday - June 7, 2007 at 11:45am

Poor old Al, Our modern day leaders and speakers are such a disgrace to the original model. You had Martin Luther King Jr. who fought against oppression. Malcolm X who fought for equality. Al Sharpton is fightin against profanity but only in hip hop? Who is he to judge something God hasn't deemed a sin? Muthafuccin' niggas be killin' me man!

Coop Says:
Tuesday - June 5, 2007 at 11:15am

Al needs to start with his own life.

Jenifer Says:
Tuesday - June 5, 2007 at 9:41am

wouldn't it be called SOALHHPR - I guess that doesn't roll off the tounge :-)

mellis Says:
Tuesday - June 5, 2007 at 1:51am

Dispite what I or anyone thinks of Al Sharpton the bottom line is when you infringe upon someones freedoms because you dont agree with their expressions,you open the door for your own rights to be dictated and snatched by the standards of those in power.

anthonyb Says:
Monday - June 4, 2007 at 6:57pm

Miss i beliveyou are not setting the example in the way you are answering people need to lear something very important in life and that is to respects other peoples opinions even if goes against yours talking about the music issue the one thing i dont like is people are not been realistic and something i was tought since i was a kid black people race is always the first to attack there own people that should not be the case they say dirty laundry needs to be wash at home and let be more realistic these topics is just as andrew said is a cycle to fix certain issues the psycological aspect needs to be treat first if not time is been waste valuable time that can be use to point out other problems in the country and let me say this im not american so i know your country has a lot of problems just as every other country what is the music industry compare to the other social problems people have in in the US there something else i was tought also you need to learn to choose your battles have a nice people

Helina Says:
Monday - June 4, 2007 at 5:38pm

Andrew, you are the BIG DUMBASS!! You and other who think like you! Stop looking at who started using the 'N' word. The FACT is MORE BLACKS use it MORE than other people. Low-life, uneducated, indecent, stupid, and morally corrupt BLACKS are the ROOT of the problem! They are totally GARBAGE to their own race and culture. CLEAN UP your OWN RACE problems!! At Least Rev. AL Sharpton is trying to do that. I give him a LOT OF CREDIT for his efforts. The FILTHY REBELIOUS hip-hop community is a bunch of dirty trash that needs to be destroyed!!

Andrew Says:
Monday - June 4, 2007 at 4:02pm

Al Sharpton is just a dumbass!! His head is too big to notice that he ridiculous efforts at trying to change a movement he obivously doesn't understand. I agree there is alot wrong with the Hip Hop community, but an outsider is going to do nothing more than make an already rebelious people, rebel more. Dude needs to stop worrying about political browny points and CNN guest appearances and start to focus on the core problems, like who started to (and still) call us niggers and down grade our females. Life is a generational cycle and this problem didn't start with our generation.