Yo Russell, It's A Tiny Step Forward

Earlier this week hip hop mogul Russell Simmons called for a ban on the use of the words, "ho", "bitch" and "N*gger" in rap and hip hop lyrics.  This was partially in response to the beatdown he and several other rap/hip hop representatives got on "Oprah" a couple of weeks ago from a group of very persuasive women and men who basically said, enough already.

But as this post says on the blog Back In Skinny Jeans:

"Just calling for the elimination of three words is not going to even make a dent in what is a monumental issue in the rap/hip-hop culture. It's like trying to put a band-aid on a severed limb gushing blood."

I agree.  My "Open Letter To Reverend Al Sharpton," a couple of weeks ago addressed this topic as well.  It's going to take a major push from people like Russell Simmons, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson with the clout to take a stand on racism and misogyny in rap and hip hop, if anything substantive is to be done.

Women, especially black women should use the Imus incident as a jumping off point to make major waves about this important issue.  We need to find out who the companies are that support these so-called artists---or as Simmons likes to call them "poets"---and put our money where our convictions are.  We have millions of dollars worth of buying power.  It's time we used it. 

Yo Russell, you've got two daughters...get with the program.