Members of the rap industry who attended Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit last week agreed to take proactive steps in securing the future of the genre, while still producing and marketing music responsibly.

The three-day summit, initiated by Def Jam founder Russell Simmons and held in New York City, featured discussions that included Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, LL Cool J, Queen Latifah , Redman, Jermaine Dupri, Will Smith along with political and religious leaders.

Among the topics discussed was the need for greater political involvement and activism. A new alliance was forged that pulls members of the hip-hop community together with members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Nation of Islam and Rap the Vote. The group will form a Political Action Committee, which will deal with issues that affect those in the hip-hop community including freedom of speech. The PAC will be involved in fundraising for political candidates as well as raising public awareness about such issues.

The summit also discussed the implementation of a mentoring program that will help younger artists in their professional and personal pursuits through career development training, financial planning and other tutoring programs.

Following an incident in which the Federal Communications Commission fined a Colorado radio station $7,000 for airing an edited version of Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady," issues of parental advisory labeling and censorship were also addressed. Those involved agreed to create a voluntary labeling standard for material that might be deemed objectionable to young listeners. Some of the components of the plan directly answer concerns expressed following a Federal Trade Commission report from earlier this year that found the music industry guilty of marketing objectionable material to children. The new standards include the prominent positioning of the Parental Advisory Label on Internet sites that either advertise or sell albums that bear the sticker, as well as placing the label in the cover art of albums in a non-removable form.

ANDREW DANSBY
(June 18, 2001)