Rap lyrics have always faced intense scrutiny from parents, lawmakers and those supposedly out to protect the youth. Whether or not it is censorship is debatable on a case by case basis, but one recent incident has brought the issue back into the forefront. A select group of students at George Washington University, led by Sarah Blugis, the opinions editor for the GW Hatchet, launched a protest against their Spring Fling headliner Action Bronson, accusing him of being a "blatant misogynist" and "transphobic."
In the editorial posted on Tuesday, March 29, Blugis wrote, "Bronson has a history of public transphobia, and has mocked transgender people on Instagram." She also pointed to his song "Consensual Rape" and the video for "Brunch."
"He's also been widely criticized for the song 'Consensual Rape,' in which he describes drugging and raping a woman," wrote Blugis. "One of his music videos, for a song called 'Brunch,' depicts Bronson cooking a meal next to a woman's dead body, putting her body in the trunk of his car, then stabbing her repeatedly while shouting gendered insults."
As a result, the GW programming board removed Bronson from the concert at the 11th hour and have not announced who will replace him. The majority of students appear to be against the decision to remove him, judging by the student response.
The programming board released a statement, saying "We apologize to the GW community for causing distress over the past few days and for attempting to bring an artist who is not consistent with our values of diversity and inclusion. Spring Fling is intended to be an event for all students to enjoy and including Action Bronson in the day would go against this."
As a result of this, Action Bronson took to Facebook to respond to these allegations.
I understand that when it comes to musicians, and more specifically rappers, the lyrics I say are taken to heart many times as a representation of my beliefs or true feelings," he wrote. "SO please let me make this very clear: I think rape and acts of violence toward woman are DISGUSTING. I would never condone anything remotely close to that type of behavior, and it's certainly not what I'm about at all."
The concert is slated to take place tomorrow, April 2, which makes the timing of the cancellation quite odd and inconvenient for students who already bought tickets. Goldlink, the initial opener will now be the headliner, while school act Lean Quatifah is the official opener. Good luck ever booking another rapper with that attitude GW.
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