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NONSTOP NEWS |
![Text Box: They talk about life [on] the streets. They talk about carrying guns…. when they have done none of this sort and they really put the wrong images in children’s minds…but at the same time you have people like me. I really have done these things and I’m just giving my testimony, no different than a preacher on Sunday when he goes up and says thou shall not do this, that, and the other…”
I interviewed Dennis Jones and Jessica Park because, when it comes to the lyrics in rap music, men and women seem to have different opinions. Sophomore Dennis Jones says, “Some of the lyrics are inappropriate, but rap is appealing and has brought black people pretty far.” Sophomore Jessica Park says, “Young children shouldn’t be able to listen to it, but for kids our age, we should have a choice to listen to explicit music if we want to.”
Even though some hip-hop artists have stated reasons why they use this vulgar language, some Americans still do not approve of this. Less than a week after Don Imus was fired after using a racial slur against the Rutgers women’s basketball team, hip-hop-based radio station 97.7 FM cracked down on the racist andsexist rap lyrics in some of the songs played on its radio station. This radio station and many others are taking action to make the music of today better. Let’s try to make better decisions, be more responsible, and set a good example when it comes to listening to music so that we may have a brighter future and make America a better place to be.](image710.gif)
![Text Box: Like the rapper Ludacris says in the intro to his CD “Release Therapy,” you must open your ears and close your eyes when listening to his music. Music has been an issue for some people and for others, it may not be a big deal. Some artists in the hip-hop industry repeatedly use the “n word,” talk about violence throughout their songs, and use degrading words and language towards women. Should this be the kind of music that we allow our children to listen to? What about our future?
Award winning rapper T.I. voices his opinion about the issues America has with hip-hop and says “… now, don’t get me wrong but now I feel there are a lot of artist out there [who] do put those images out there that try to make themselves seem cool and they promote things that they aren’t willing to carry out themselves.](image711.gif)
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By: Jessica Cooksy |
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Women crying, children starving, nations living in poverty—some may say that starvation in Africa is an old issue, but in fact, it is just a problem that has yet to find a solution. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute, the agricultural crisis in Africa has left some 200 million people malnourished, and about half of Africa’s population living on less than one dollar a day. Mothers are forced to bury their children, and children are forced to bury their mothers because of the lack of agriculture and resources that has Africa starving to death. Marc Cohen of the IFPRI stated that, “If we look at Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, all the projections are that poverty and hunger are going to get worse.” West-African countries like Niger are more heavily affected. Niger is not only the worst affected country by hunger. It is also the second poorest country in Africa. In southern Niger children starve to death every day, and according to the World Food Program, 2.5 million people, which is almost one fourth of Niger’s total population, are in desperate need of food. If medical aid and food are not distributed soon, approximately 32,000 children in Niger will starve. The USAID extended a helping hand to the people in Africa by launching the Presidential Initiative to End Hunger in Africa in 2002. This plan featured a multi-year effort specifically designed to cut the number of hungry in half by 2015, and increasing the agricultural income of Africa. So the question is—what exactly |
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is being done for the many nations whose poverty and lack of agriculture claim the lives of about 600 million children a year? The United States has done a great deal to help those millions in need with this plan of action, but it still raises the question—what about those people for whom are in need right now? What about the people who a multi-year plan is not good enough? Though this process will take many years to fulfill, a lot of those people do not have that kind of time to wait. They need whatever help they can get right now. However, there is hope. There are many organizations, like World Vision, that give you the opportunity to pledge twenty dollars a month in order to save a starving child’s life. Also, there are organizations such as Concern, Care Hunger Campaign, Shared Inc., World Neighbors, Project Peanut Butter, and Oxfam America that need you to help make a difference so that we can begin to fight hunger in Africa and save the lives of those children and families who deserve to live life to the fullest.
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Bad Rep for Rap |
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By: Keana Pratt |
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Starving Nigerian Children. Courtesy of www.unicefusa.org |
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Famous rapper T.I. |
