By Joe Walker
“Should children be 18 before they’re taken to ‘The Candy Shop’?”
Children love listening to the radio. My two boys enjoy listening to music stations of all genres. Both like rap. They’re current favorite is “Paris/Tokyo” by Lupe Fiasco. And I’d guess they have friends who love rap star Soulja Boy Tell’em – given his present popularity with children. My boys don’t share their friends’ fondness for Soulja Boy though, because they don’t get to hear him.
Radio stations playing Soulja Boy Tell’em’s hit single “Crank That” get no airtime in my house or vehicle. Have you heard the song? Paid any attention to the lyrics, “Superman that [BLANK]”, “Super soaker that [BLANK]”? Do you know what those lyrics mean?
“Crank That”, while danceable and fun in club settings, contains content children shouldn’t recite. If it must get radio play, station DJs and programmers should spin it during late night broadcasts while little ones sleep. In the morning before school, afternoons and evenings are not appropriate time slots. Parents should enforce this too. Some do. Some don’t.
Children do know, love and recite “Crank That”. I’ve heard them recalling its lyrics in line at the grocery store, in music stores, even in the mall parking lot!
I remember my mother hearing “Gin & Juice” by Snoop Dogg on the radio while dropping me off at high school. She asked me, “Do you like this song?” I responded saying something to the affect of, “Yeah, Momma. Snoop is the bomb.” “This song is about getting drunk and high,” she said. “That’s what wrong with kids today. I better not catch you bringing a Snoop Doggy Dogg tape in my house.” She turned off the radio.
Censorship of radio music has been a topic of discussion for many years. It should be discussed heavily today. Listeners are a lot less discerning, as are those who produce these suspect tunes. Sadly, “Crank That” occupies radio playlist space with songs far worse. Children hear these daily. Back when “Gin & Juice” was hot, the radio version was at least modified from the album version. Today’s radio singles are album versions with bad words slightly distorted. Nothing is changed. You can still tell what’s being said. So YOU should say something!
