In the ongoing debate about ‘hate speech’ and the limits that can legitimately be placed upon freedom of speech, there is a sub-debate about song lyrics.
Earlier this year Deborah Finding wrote about OrelSan(1), the writer responsible for the charmingly named Sale Pute (Dirty Slut), drawing a line to lyrics by other artists such as Eminem, who have exercised both feminists and the right with their musings on life, love, bitches, bling and weaponry. She noted, however, that:
Earlier this year Deborah Finding wrote about OrelSan(1), the writer responsible for the charmingly named Sale Pute (Dirty Slut), drawing a line to lyrics by other artists such as Eminem, who have exercised both feminists and the right with their musings on life, love, bitches, bling and weaponry. She noted, however, that:
Outrage about violence and misogyny in music is almost always confined to rap and hip-hop, despite there being much to engage with elsewhere.There are three issues here. The first is the evaluation of different types of lyrics that have a sexist / homophobic / violent edge, the second is to look at why certain styles of music seem more prone to outrage than others, and the third is whether we can differentiate between lyrics apparently similar in content based on the identity of the person delivering them.
