Talib Kweli on Rick Ross's date rape lyrics Favorite 

Practitioner: 

Date: 

Apr 27 2013

Location: 

NYC

Following the controversy around Rick Ross's date rape lyrics in his rap on Rocko’s song U.O.E.N.O, the rapper lost his contract with Reebok and was the target of the media, anti-rape activists Ultraviolet, hip hop activists, and even his fans.

To hear Rapper and Activist Talib Kweli's response, check out this 3 minute video on the Huffington Post's youtube channel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc7YRJF41dg

Or... a 35 minute segment diving deeper into the issue at the Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/01/rick-ross-rape-lyrics-talib-kwe...

The Huffington Post reports:

"I don't care if Rick Ross is 40 years old -- he's a misguided 40-year-old person."

Strong words from Talib Kweli Monday as he addressed the recent controversy over Rick Ross' rap verse on the song U.O.E.N.O., in a HuffPost Live segment hosted by Marc Lamont Hill.

While Ross seems to have chalked the controversy surrounding his lyrics up to some unspecified "misunderstanding," many are not buying his explanation.

"Rick Ross condoned rape in that song ... and he should apologize, and his apology that he offered was unacceptable." Kweli continued.

Ebony Magazine's News & Life Editor Jamilah Lemieux, Washington Post columnist Rahiel Tesfamariam and activist Rosa Clemente, also participated in the segment discussing not only Ross' lyric, but also the importance of holding hip-hop artists and American communities accountable for not proactively rejecting rape culture or adequately addressing the prevalence of violence against women.

"A lot of what we criticize about hip-hop, we tend to make it black specific, or ghetto specific, or male specific. It's just an American problem. So you have white men, you have white male politicians who have said things that are very similar to what Rick Ross said," Lemieux commented."

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