VIDEO: Russell Simmons Defends the Use of Certain Words in Hip-Hop
Filed Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at 12:00 PM
PUB DEF EXCLUSIVE
During a panel discussion hosted by Congresswoman (and St. Louis native) Maxine Waters (D-CA) at the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference in Washington D.C. last weekend, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons made a surprise visit and jumped into a discussion about the use of words like “nigga,” “bitch,” and “ho” in urban music.
Simmons, the co-founder of Def Jam Records and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, talked about his recent appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s show, where he discussed the same topic. He said that appearance may have been a mistake because the audience already had their minds made up and weren’t hearing what he had to say. Simmons soon found some panelists and audience members in D.C. also had their own strong opinions on the subject.
Simmons received some opposition from some of his fellow panelists, including a spoken word artist and actor Hill Harper, who was recently in St. Louis at a St. Louis American Salute to Excellence banquet.
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