Nas, Snoop, & Lil' Jon lyrics--what do their moms think, what do blogs and the NY Times think

Catchdubs is a dj who blogs:

"But listening to the Nas, Snoop, and Lil Jon records back to back this Saturday was kinda gross. Like, don't y'all have moms? It's troubling - compounded by the fact that along with all their fucked-upedness, these records have a few of the better mainstream hiphop tracks out at the moment (save for Chingy, natch). It doesn't help that right now, all the "conscious" dudes are more or less boring rappers making boring music.

It's complex, it's contradictory, and I'm ready to get back to links and zingers instead of trying to articulate shit. So go win records, but lets keep thinking and talking (I want to see grad school dudes, get in on the action on some semantic shit). Mmmmkay?" http://catchdubs.com/old/2004_11_01_index.html

Julianne Shepherd’s blog which was cited by K. Sanneh in the NY Times
http://www.urbanhonking.com/cowboyz/archives/2004/11/eff_u_calvin_br.html

EFF U CALVIN BROADUS

November 18, 2004

"I've discussed Rhythm & Gangsta with around 4-5 people. WHY HAS NO ONE MENTIONED SNOOP ENCOURAGING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ON "Can U Control Yo Hoe"?!?!?!

ADDENDUM.

Some of the language in "Can You Control Yo Hoe" mirrors exactly the language abusers use to justify their violence. You made me do it. That part, Snoop repeats thrice. It is so extreme, heart-sickening to the point that, were I a Los Angeles social worker, I'd show up at the Broadus residence to check in.

He threads the sentiment through the album, piling sex on the death on the violence. Insidiously framed by songs about God, killing, and fucking, it's Snoop's neverending Iceberg Slim syndrome: pimp mythology in rhyme scheme, like Iceberg Slim is someone you really wanna be. A friend shared a sad quote with me recently, about violence in hip-hop: "We treat our women like America treats us."

I am desensitized. I am a feminist who picks nits and splits hairs. But I also give passes. I throw my hands in air in the club to the crunk. I shake my ass like tomorrow's not gonna come, to songs written by men who wouldn't respect me. I rap along to murder-threat verse. I say to myself: sexual expression is complex and that's how I like it. I am an adult. I justify: I live in America, contradiction is my burden to bear. But how much am I really deaf to, that it takes something so extreme to provoke my rage, that it's not just business as usual. How much does it break down my subconscious? How did Calvin Broadus, not super-persona Snoop Dogg but the human Calvin Broadus, get this track past his wife, his crew (Nate Dogg notwithstanding), management, producers, label people onto an album? OH, because we'll buy it. $14.99 at Virgin times platinum numbers. I'll multiply it next time I 'm out, dancing "yes" and thinking "no." The language of the abused.

[Grazie to Joan Morgan.]"

11-22-04 NY Times By Kelefa Sanneh

Snoop Dogg
'R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece'

"A few months ago, Snoop Dogg released ''Drop It Like It's Hot,'' the stunning first single from ''R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece'' (Geffen). The beat, by the Neptunes, slithers and hisses like an angry reptile, and Snoop echoes it by whispering his lyrics.

As that song demonstrates, Snoop Dogg's music is usually much more appealing -- and more unpredictable -- than his rather cartoonish public persona. This new album isn't quite as infectious as the last one, ''Paid tha Cost to Be tha Bo$$,'' because the hooks aren't as grabby and the jokes aren't as funny. But there's plenty to love, from a slick collaboration with the Neptunes (who produced much of the album), to the lightheaded finale, ''No Thang on Me,'' with Bootsy Collins, in which Snoop extols the unsordid pleasure of ''coaching little kids out there on the football field.''

But one track on this album may overshadow all the others. ''Can U Control Yo Hoe'' is a wildly unfunny -- and, worse, unfunky -- track that has Snoop Dogg endorsing domestic violence. You have to to put your woman ''in her place/Even if it's slapping her in her face,'' he rhymes, and there's no joke on the way, just more bad advice. If this is his attempt to start an Eminem-style controversy, here's hoping he's successful (the battle has already begun at one blog, urbanhonking.com/cowboyz); Geffen's complacent executives should brace themselves for the backlash."

So is hiphop getting each and every year to be more like dancehall where you have to say you like the beats and the style of the vocal flow but not the lyrics...