Pit5 Music News Cache

By Steve James 1 hour, 47 minutes ago

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Queen Latifah, who has a new voice as a jazz singer, is taking blacks to task for not acting sooner against misogynist, violent and vulgar rap lyrics.

"It's a little late to say: 'Stop saying nigger,"' she told Reuters in an interview, in which she discussed the firing of radio personality Don Imus for racial comments and African-American protests over an assault case in Louisiana.

Asked about her transition from hip-hop star to singer, Hollywood actress and entrepreneur, Latifah said she also wants to be a voice for young blacks.

"I've never been a political person, but I do care about what's going on in my world, who's making the decisions for me," she said. "I would like to see young people be involved and active and voice our opinions.

"I believe what just happened in Jena, Louisiana, was one of the most exciting things in a long time and it just kind of showed how we really do have a voice and that voice should be used for positive means," Latifah said.

African-Americans marched there this month after six black teenagers were charged with attempted murder in an assault on a white student. The case has not been resolved, but following the protests over what some regarded as excessive charges, one suspect was released on bail.

Latifah, who was born Dana Owens, contrasted that action with what happened when Imus was fired in April by CBS for derogatory comments aimed at a black women's basketball team.

"The whole Imus thing was a big sandbag in a way because he's not saying anything he didn't say a long time ago that other shock jocks on the radio, who might even be black, aren't saying," she said.

'WHAT ABOUT RAP?'

"What about rap, what about the things that they say?" she asked. "Well, you could have stepped up and done something about that a long time ago if you have any problem with saying it on TV every day and hearing it on the radio.

"You're not doing a damn thing about it," she said.

Latifah noted that black activists pressured CBS to fire Imus. "But you didn't pressure any radio stations to stop playing music that had misogynist lyrics or had vulgarities in them. You didn't pressure record companies to stop making records like this."

Black activist Al Sharpton recently organized rallies across the United States to urge rappers to clean up their lyrics.

He suggested that the entertainment conglomerates that sign the rappers would be pressured to clean up lyrics if threatened by the withdrawal of government-run pension fund investments.

Latifah, 37, whose new album, "Trav'lin' Light," features her big voice on jazz standards and ballads, said artists themselves were more likely to respond to persuasion rather than pressure. "Come to us collectively and say: 'You're the top ten people in this game, how can you make this better?"

She gave the example of "Runaway Love" by rapper Ludacris and singer Mary J. Blige. "A lot of his records are just about having fun and partying, dancing and getting down with girls, big cars and big music and making money.

"But that record was about young girls going through stress at home and problems and running away from it. And a lot of young girls were able to relate to it," she said.

"It didn't make him soft, didn't make him lose any street cred. If anything it broadened his audience and gave young people something positive to look at in the midst of all the other stuff."