Music Censorship

9 Pages 2197 Words

o choose what he or she will or will not listen to. If they feel that the music is not of their tastes and find it offensive, then they will choose not to listen to it. People will always have the right not to view material that they find offensive, but if the material is banned, people will not have the right to view it at all.
Censorship of music can take various forms. Parental advisory labels, banned concerts, banned cover art, rating systems, legislative bills and laws, and banned clothing are a few of the ways in which music and the artists that create the music can be censored. The variety of music comes from a wide range of artists with many different ways of expression. However, music is not necessarily the problem; sometimes it only tells us the problems, and the artists are merely expressing their opinion. Many of the rappers today come from childhoods living in the harsh, urban streets. These artists have grown up with violence and hate and therefore choose to express it in their music. This is all these artists have ever known; it is what they lived through, so obviously, this is what they rap about. These artists are not necessarily trying to offend any particular person or group, nor are they trying to deter youth to the immoral ways of society. These artists are merely expressing what they know and how they lived in a form of entertainment. Rap is their outlet for anger. However, rap is the most censored form of music on the market today.
Censorship of any form does not allow the people to decide, with their own judgment, what is right and what is wrong. Most attempts of suppression rest on a denial of the fundamental premise of democracy: that the ordinary citizen, by exercising his

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critical judgment, will accept the good and...