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Obscenity law and sexually explicit rap music: Understanding the effects of sex, attitudes, and beliefs

Article in Journal of Applied Communication Research · August 1997 DOI: 10.1080/00909889709365477

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Obscenity Law and Sexually Explicit Rap Music: Understanding the Effects of Sex, Attitudes, and Beliefs

Travis L. Dixon and Daniel G. Linz

ABSTRACT This study investigated listeners' judgments regarding the offensiveness of sexually explicit lyrics found in rap music produced by 2 Live Crew. Subjects were exposed to music and lyrics in a 2 (subject sex—male, female) X 2 (musical genre—2 Live Crew Rap, Non-Rap) X 3 (sexual explicitness—high, medium, low) factorial design. They then made judgments of patent offensiveness, prurient appeal and artistic merit regarding 2 Live Crew and rap music in general. The results indicated that the 2 Live Crew music that was high in sexual explicitness was rated as more patently offensive than other equally sexually explicit materials. Surprisingly, women did not find the 2 Live Crew more offensive than men. Rebellious sexual attitudes, the belief that rap music causes societal degradation, and disaffection toward society, helped predict subject responses to all materials on patent offensiveness and prurient appeal scales. Appreciation of linguistic exaggeration, popu- larly known as "playing the dozens," and African American humor predicted whether subjects would find artistic merit in rap. Listeners' endorsement of rebellious sexual attitudes and the belief that rap contributes to societal degradation also predicted responses to 2 Live Crew on a combination of the three variables associated with obscenity law (patent offensiveness, prurient appeal, and artistic merit). Theoretical implications and legal applications of the findings are discussed.

Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 nderstanding the effects of sexually explicit materials on viewers has been a U subject of continuing interest to mass communication researchers (Donner- stein, Linz, & Penrod, 1987; Linz & Malamuth, 1993). A sub-portion of this research has focused on ferreting out which materials are accepted in a given community in accordance with obscenity laws (Linz, Donnerstein, Land, McCall, Scott, Shafer, Klein, & Lance, 1991; Linz, Donnerstein, Shafer, Land, McCall, & Graesser, 1995). Traditionally, pictures, magazines, movies and videocassettes

Travis L. Dixon is a doctoral candidate and Daniel G. Linz is Professor of Communication and Director of the Law and Society Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. This report is based on a master's thesis submitted by Travis L. Dixon to the University of California, Santa Barbara. The authors wish to thank Audra Pratcher and Steve Hambright for their assistance in data collection. Edward Donnerstein, Dale Kunkel, and Jake Harwood generously provided insightful comments and sugges- tions on earlier drafts of this article. 218 OBSCENITY LAW AND RAP MUSIC DIXON AND LINZ

have been prosecuted under these laws. Recently, certain forms of music also have been indicted as obscene (Will, 1990). Rap music in particular has come under fire for its offensive sexual content. A prominent example of challenges to such music was the prosecution of 2 Live Crew for its rap album "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" (Campbell, 1991). There has been little research on listeners' perceptions of rap music and how these perceptions are related to the components of obscenity law. Only a handful of studies has examined listeners' responses to sexually explicit music in general, and rap music in particular (Hansen, 1995; Johnson, Jackson, & Gatto, 1995; Zillmann, Aust, Hoffman, Love, Ordman, Pope, & Siegler, 1995). This study seeks to understand why sexually explicit rap music produced by 2 Live Crew, and by implication other sexually explicit rap music, is offensive to some listeners. We investigated this issue by presenting male and female listeners with various levels of sexually explicit rap and non-rap music, and by measuring listeners' beliefs about this music as well as measuring background variables. These variables were then used to explain listener ratings of the material on the three dimensions of obscenity law: patent offensiveness, prurient appeal and artistic merit. First, however, we treat music in general and music lyrics in particular, as communica- tion. We also review the attacks on and defenses of rap music in the scholarly and popular culture. Finally, we examine the sexual explicitness of rap music in terms of obscenity law and three hypotheses are derived.

Communication, Rap Music, And Obscenity Several researchers have noted that the scientific investigation of music as a communication medium has been neglected. Chaffee (1985) has argued that music is particularly worthy of scholarly attention because it uniquely transcends social boundaries such as national origin, language, and time. As a form of communica- tion, musical harmonies and sounds create and maintain sociological and interpersonal entities such as subcultures, folk traditions, and "generation gaps. . . . [Music] carries meaning at many levels, in lyrics that mix poetry and prose, in sound that interweaves melody and rhythm. The universality of music has appealed to the critical and aesthetic instincts of every kind of scholar imaginable" (Chaffee, 1985, p. 413). Lull (1985) hypothesizes that music helps unify social collectives, introduces new topics (e.g., rap music's angry lamentation of urban Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 inner city blight), teaches societal norms and rules, and creates new symbols. Communication scholars have investigated music listeners' belief systems (Edwards & Singletary, 1989), the sex differences in music preferences (Christen- son & Peterson, 1988), the existence of "rock" music subcultures (Orlova, 1991), and the effect of parental advisory labels on teenagers' music choices (Christenson, 1992). Several of these scholars have studied the relationship between music, culture and politics. For example researchers have studied Latin music influences in the United States (Manuel, 1991), the role of reggae in political activism (Land, 1995), the influence of American music on Canadian youth (Winter, 1985), and the listening patterns of Swedish youth (Roe, 1985). More recently, communication scholars have begun to devote a large amount of attention to studying the effects of music videos on audience members (Brown & Campbell, 1986; Brown & Schulze, 1990; Gow, 1994; Hansen & Hansen, 1990; Hansen & Krygowski, 1994; Peterson- Lewis & Chenault, 1986). Much of this scientific research has been motivated by 219

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concerns about music having an adverse effect on listeners. However, fewer social scientific studies have been conducted on rap music. Much more attention has been paid to rap music by cultural studies scholars.

Rap Music and Misogyny Several critical scholars and popular writers have suggested that rap music is rife with misogyny and violence (Hooks, 1992; Will, 1990). According to Hooks (1992) rap music is a form of male expression that provides a public voice for discarded young Black men, although it has led to the expression of unacceptable levels of sexism. She states ". . . the 'feminine' was resisted and rejected [by rap musicians] so that an assertive patriarchal paradigm of competitive masculinity and its concomitant emphasis on physical prowess could emerge. As a result, much rap music is riddled with sexism and misogyny" (Hooks, 1992, p. 35). Because rap is often sexist, it fails to completely or accurately capture the enormity of Black "pain" (Hooks, 1992). Dyson (1996), on the other hand, argues that despite its potential for sexism and misogyny, rap musicians do "represent" the lack of opportunity indicative of those who live in the ghettos of America. "At their best, rappers shape the tortuous twists of urban fate into lyrical elegies. They represent lives swallowed by too little love or opportunity. They represent themselves and their peers with aggrandizing anthems that boast of their ingenuity and luck in surviving" (Dyson, 1996, p. 177). Partially as a result of this debate between detractors and supporters of rap, a few researchers have investigated the influence of rap music on listeners— including the influence that rap music's purported emphasis on violence and political discontent might have on audience members (Hansen, 1995; Johnson et al., 1995; Zillmann et al., 1995). Some of this work has focused on the potential for rap music to encourage teenagers to emulate violence and seek "socially unacceptable routes to success" (Johnson et al., 1995). Other work has suggested that so called "radical" rap music may influence listeners' political evaluations of liberal or supremacist White or Black candidates (Zillmann et al., 1995). The present study explores listener evaluation of rap music that varies in sexual explicitness—a dimension not adequately explored to date.

Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 Sexual Explicitness, Obscenity Law, and Rap Music The use of sexual explicitness in literature and art historically has been controversial. Although complaints about sexually explicit materials are varied, it is most often assumed that sexually explicit materials contribute to perverse sexual behavior and general societal degradation (Blanchard, 1992). Censorship in America has largely revolved around an intense concern for works which are high in sexual explicitness, and the history of obscenity law can be thought of as a legal reaction to these so-called excessive displays of sexual explicitness. Simply put, the law assumes the more sexually explicit a work is, the less that members of the community will tolerate it and the more that it will be found to appeal to a morbid or unhealthy interest in sex. Rather than exploring violence, this study explores listeners' evaluation of rap music which varies in sexual explicitness. The impetus for this study follows from the 2 Live Crew legal ordeal. In 1990, the album "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" by 2 Live Crew was declared 220 OBSCENITY LAW AND RAP MUSIC DIXON AND LINZ

legally obscene by a Federal court judge (Campbell, 1991; Clark, 1990; Gordon, 1991; Skywalker Records, Inc. v. Nicholas Navarro, 1990). With this ruling 2 Live Crew became the first musical artists in American history to ever be convicted of an obscenity violation by a federal court. Relying on his personal interpretation of the degree of community tolerance for these musical materials, the judge claimed that Nasty appealed to a "prurient interest" in sex because "the albums lyrics are replete with references to female and male genitalia, human sexual excretion, oral-anal contact, fellatio, group sex, specific sexual positions, sado-masochism, the turgid state of the male sexual organ, masturbation, cunnilingus, sexual intercourse, and the sounds of moaning" {Skywalker Records v. Navaro, 1990, p. 591). The court also ruled that the work was "patently offensive." According to the judge, "The recording depicts sexual conduct in graphic detail. The specificity of the descriptions makes the audio message analogous to a camera with a zoom lens, focusing on sights and sounds of various ultimate sex acts" [Skywalker Records vs. Navaro, 1990, p. 592). Although he claimed to have no bias against rap music, the judge asserted that rap exists on a different artistic plane than more traditional forms of melodic music.1 Four days after the obscenity conviction, 2 Live Crew was arrested for a live performance of their material at an adults only club and again charged with violating Florida state's obscenity law. However, this time they were acquitted of the charges by a jury (Baker, 1993; Campbell, 1991). Many of the jurors who served in the live performance trial indicated they found the lyrics unworthy of prosecution (Blanchard, 1992). According to one author, ". . . the jurors found the lyrics more comical than obscene . . . Officers took the stand to read the offensive lyrics to the jury, which jurors found rather humorous" (Blanchard, 1992, p. 831). That a federal judge ruled 2 Live Crew's lyrics were obscene, while a jury acquitted 2 Live Crew for their live performance of essentially the same material, points to a fundamental problem in interpreting and applying obscenity laws. Material that may be tolerable or even artistically valuable to some listeners can be offensive and intolerable to others. The purpose of the present study was to attempt to identify listener characteristics that predict tolerance or intolerance of this musical form.

Prurient Appeal, Patent Offensiveness, and Artistic Merit Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 In order to consider a work obscene, a judge or jury must apply a three prong test laid down by the Supreme Court in Miller v. California (1973). The test includes the following: (a) whether "the average person applying contemporary community standards" would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest; (b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value {Miller v. California, 1973). In order for a work to be declared obscene all three prongs stipulated in the Miller test must be met. In this study we primarily focused on listeners' evaluation of patent offensiveness and prurient appeal in 2 Live Crew music. In addition, we asked listeners to evaluate rap music's artistic merit generally. The Supreme Court originally defined "prurient" as "having a tendency to incite lustful thoughts." The notion of what it means for material to appeal to a 221

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prurient interest has changed over time. Most recently, the Court has defined prurient interest to be a "shameful, morbid, or unhealthy interest in sex" [Brokett v. Spokane Arcades, Inc., 1985; Roth v. United States, 1959). The Supreme Court's definition of patent offensiveness stems from two opin- ions: Manual Enterprises, Inc. v. Day (1962), which defined materials as patently offensive when on their face they affront current community standards of decency, and facobellis v. Ohio (1964) which ruled that patent offensiveness was found when material goes substantially beyond "customary limits of candor" in descrip- tion or representation of sexual matters. In Miller the court offered examples of patently offensive depictions such as masturbation, lewd exhibition of the genitalia and intercourse. In an attempt to clarify patent offensiveness so as to render it more "usable" by a trier of fact, lower courts throughout the country have interpreted the standard to mean whether material is "accepted" or is "tolerated" by the community [Saliba v. State, 1985). Whether the sexual material has literary, artistic, political or scientific merit is the final criteria for judging obscenity. Fact-finders often rely on experts in order to determine if the prosecuted materials are meritorious. A substantial part of the controversy surrounding rap music has consistently been whether or not it is actually "real" music at all. We were interested in the extent to which individuals endorse rap's general artistic merit because this judgment should affect their decision about whether a particular work is obscene. We proposed that several variables are pertinent to predicting listeners' evaluations of patent offensiveness, prurient appeal and artistic merit of rap music. The first set of variables included listeners' attitudes and beliefs about rap music specifically. We also assumed sex differences between listeners would be important. Finally, differences between listeners' levels of racism should be critical in understanding these evaluations.

Factors Affecting Evaluations of Rap Music Listener Attitudes and Beliefs There has been speculation about the role that certain attitudes and beliefs about rap music played in the obscenity prosecution of 2 Live Crew (Crenshaw, 1991; Rose, 1994). Positive or negative evaluations of 2 Live Crew may reflect listeners' Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 ability to appreciate the elements and characteristics of rap music. Many authors contend that these elements and characteristics may be related to the prosecution and jury acquittal of Nasty as an obscene work (Crenshaw, 1991). For instance, many rappers participate in playing the dozens, an escalating game of animated exaggeration or boasting carried forward from the African oral tradition, passed down to Black slaves and finally to contemporary youth. Dollard (1981) describes the dozens as "a type of verbal dueling in which usually male antagonists address pointed barbs, often in rhymed couplet form, at one another. The battle of words usually takes place in front of an audience—in fact many of the scoring 'put-downs' are really designed to elicit approbation from the interested observers in attendance" (p. 277). It is important to note that exaggeration and playing the dozens are not restricted to rap music but represent a more general communicative form. This linguistic device, although popularized by African Americans, is often used by youth of all races. According to Bruhn & Murray 222 OBSCENITY LAW AND RAP MUSIC DIXON AND LINZ

(1985), the dozens helps to establish communication and understanding between ethnic groups when the players know and follow the rules of the game. In addition to playing the dozens, "signifying" is an important element of rap music. Signifying refers to a way of "encoding messages or meanings which involves, in most cases, an element of indirection" (Mitchell-Kernan, 1981, p. 311). Signifying is often used to indirectly insult another party. Many rappers use indirect insults and claim that they are signifying when talking dirty about women. In some respects, signifying is a form of insult that says, "if the shoe fits, wear it." The logic invoked here is that women or others who do not exemplify the rapper's insults should not be offended. Finally, another element that is intertwined with both "signifying" and "playing the dozens" is "toasting." Toasts are narrative poems, which are "frequently epochal in nature, involving an extended battle between protagonists" (Labov, Cohen, Robins, & Lewis, 1981, p . 329). Toasts often invoke images of protagonists who are street-wise survivors in spite of tremendous opposition in a cruel world. Toasts also often discuss sexuality in taboo ways, and toasts almost always involve rhyme and meter. In toasts as well as in playing the dozens, sexual conquests are often discussed using highly explicit language. Often times this discussion is related to humor and a critique of the audience members. One scholar suggests that toasts might be the most pivotal element of rap music (Toop, 1990). All of the above elements have been synthesized into modern technology and produced as rap music. Thus, Powell (1991) observes: . . . the most important influence on rap has not been commercial recordings but the street level practices of "toasting," "capping," "joining," "signifying," "shucking and jiving," "sound- ing," "running it down," "gripping," "copping a plea," and "playing the dozens" (p. 246). Given the above explication, several attitudes and beliefs about rap may help us explain reactions to the sexually explicit rap music of 2 Live Crew. These include:

Appreciation of Playing the Dozens. Those who believe that exaggeration is a legitimate form of communication will positively evaluate the sexually explicit lyrics of 2 Live Crew, more than those who do not. This construct attempts to measure whether or not subjects understand exaggeration and whether they believe that exaggeration is skillful. Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 Rebellious Sexual Attitudes. 2 Live Crew portrays Black males as over-sexed, well-endowed, and virile on its Nasty album. The use of this device in rap music is similar to the more long-standing Black cultural device of "toasting." As a variable in our study, we seek to measure the extent to which people feel uninhibited in their attitudes towards sexuality and to measure the extent to which people are familiar with and appreciate this form of expression. Listeners who are uncomfort- able with uninhibited discussions of sexuality would be likely to negatively evaluate 2 Live Crew, while positive evaluations are expected from listeners who link these sexual exclamations to humor and social critique.

Appreciation of African American Humor. This variable measures the extent to which listeners' appreciate African American humor. Appreciation of certain comedians such as Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor might be related to an appreciation of sexually explicit rap music. Murphy, Pryor, and others are known for their discussion of controversial topics dealing with race and sexuality. Those 223 JACR AUGUST 1997

who appreciate such African American comedians are more likely to evaluate positively the sexually explicit messages in the music of 2 Live Crew.

Appreciation of Storytelling Ability. Much of the popularity of rap artists can be attributed to their unique abilities to tell stories. Such abilities are similar to what makes one exceptionally good at "toasting," "playing the dozens," and "signifying." A measure of one's appreciation of such a quality should be associated with tolerance for 2 Live Crew because the essence of its music are stories, albeit often rendered in a sexually explicit fashion.

Endorsement of Machismo. Key to an assessment of whether a work is obscene or should be censored are listeners' reactions to the machismo elements of rap music. Most of the controversial rap music in this study contains "playing the dozens," "toasts," and "signifying" taken to their most extreme form through use of explicitness. This type of explicitness is used to present the machismo often found in rap music. Approving of this "macho" perspective is likely to be associated with positive evaluations of 2 Live Crew.

Disaffection Toward Mainstream Society. Much of rap music expresses a general dislike for mainstream society by accentuating the problems plaguing the Black community. The uncensored expression of this dissatisfaction with life and the social system in general may potentially be offensive to some listeners. According to Rose (1989), "Crime, drugs, unemployment and unyielding frustra- tion are elemental to the lives of many Afro-Americans and are reflected in the content of rap music" (p. 37). Those who can relate to this frustration may be more likely to evaluate positively 2 Live Crew because they will interpret some of their words as general disaffection toward society with which they can relate.

Black In-Group Exclusivity. There has been some debate about the use of controversial words (e.g., "nigger") in the Black community and the extent to which they can be used as political and artistic icons. These words are sometimes used as a way to acknowledge discrimination among fellow members of the community in order to promote solidarity among community members. Part of the debate involves whether or not rap music artists are preservers as opposed to exploiters of these words. The more one sees rap artists as caretakers of these Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 words and expressions, the more she or he would be expected to evaluate positively rap music. The more one endorses such a view, the more likely one should be to evaluate positively 2 Live Crew, because of its use of such explicit language.

Evaluation of Rap's Stylistic Features. Music fans often refer to certain stylistic properties that attract them to a composition. In rap music, the "beat" is the basis of the composition rather than the resolution of harmony (Rose, 1994). It is important, therefore, to delineate the extent to which one appreciates these features in order to understand evaluations of rap music. Many authors argue that the musical essence of rap music lies in the "beat" and the sample (Baker, 1993; Rose, 1989 & 1994; Toop, 1990). Sampling is the use of pre-recorded and continuously repeated or "looped" material in a new musical composition. Debates and legal battles still rage over whether rap music artists may legitimately "borrow" such pre-recorded sounds. 2 Live Crew was recently involved in such a 224

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dispute [Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 1994). Those who positively evaluate sampling and other musical devices used in rap music may also tend to positively assess 2 Live Crew.

Rap Music and Antisocial Behavior. Underlying much of the controversy about rap music is the idea that rap "causes trouble." Those writers who believe that rap music contributes to antisocial behavior feel that listeners will act out the lyrics of violent or sexually explicit songs and therefore commit crimes (Will, 1990). One author in particular implied that 2 Live Crew was indirectly respon- sible for the rape of a New York jogger because the teenagers were just acting out ideas they had heard from the "Crew" (Rose, 1994; Will, 1990). This author seemed to suggest that rap music in general represented the decline of American values and that rap was a threat to mainstream White society (Crenshaw, 1991; Rose, 1994). We would expect that listeners who hold the view that rap causes societal degeneration, would be likely to evaluate the lyrics of 2 Live Crew negatively because they would feel that 2 Live Crew could contribute to such degeneration.

Sex Differences in the Perception of Rap and Explicitness Women have been found to react more negatively than men to sexually explicit materials and to judge such materials much more harshly than men (Brown, 1979; Stauffer & Frost, 1976). Sexually explicit rock music in general has been the target of both feminists and conservatives who have expressed concern over the portrayal of women in some works (Butler, 1991). Women, however, may respond more negatively to sexually explicit music in the context of rap. Females may perceive rap music as more misogynous than other forms of music. In rap music performed by artists such as 2 Live Crew, the words to the songs are not hidden behind complex melodies. Rap's emphasis on lyrics over melody may accentuate any hateful or degrading sentiment towards women. Perhaps for this reason, rap music has been labeled as excessively misogynist by many critics, including some African Americans (Baker, 1993; Hooks, 1992) Negative reactions to rap may also stem from the fact that the music is dominated by male artists. At least one critic has noted that ". . . rap music is, for the most part, male dominated, focusing primarily on male issues from a male

Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 perspective" (Berry, 1990, p. 105). Not only is rap music as a genre and industry dominated by men, but rappers' sexually explicit lyrics are often about the domination of women. Because 2 Live Crew, like most sexually explicit rap groups, focuses on women from a male perspective, emphasizing domination, we expected women to react more negatively to the lyrics than men. 2 Live Crew, in particular, has been condemned for its misogynist lyrics by many critics in the mainstream press (e.g., Crenshaw, 1991). The most vociferous reaction to 2 Live Crew after the legal controversy came from feminists (Rose, 1994).

Racism and the Role of Negative Racial Attitudes Many of the writers who came to the defense of 2 Live Crew during their legal crisis felt that much of the prosecution was rooted in racism. They noted that other equally sexually explicit groups were overlooked while only 2 Live Crew was prosecuted. White males delivering lyrics as sexually explicit as Blacks are often judged less harshly (Crenshaw, 1991; Rose, 1994). One Black feminist in particular 225 JACR AUGUST 1997

suggests that, although she does not condone 2 Live Crew for their misogyny, the selectivity used to prosecute 2 Live Crew smacked of racism given the availability of sexually explicit Andrew Dice Clay and Madonna records within Broward County, where 2 Live Crew was prosecuted (Crenshaw, 1991). Luther Campbell, the leader of 2 Live Crew and owner of Luke Records, suggested that much of the criticism of 2 Live Crew was motivated by the fact that the group was indepen- dently produced and distributed by Black males (Baker, 1993; Crenshaw, 1991; Rose, 1994). Many authors have noted that prominent Black males have always been the target of criticism beyond that leveled at Blacks in general. A racist double standard is often applied to Black males such that their behavior is more negatively evaluated than the same behavior of White males (Dyson, 1996; Rose, 1994). Dyson (1996) has commented on this irony: "While these young [B]lack males become whipping boys for sexism and misogyny, the places in our culture where these ancient traditions [of sexism and misogyny] are nurtured and rationalized—including religious and educational institutions and the nuclear family—remain immune to forceful and just criticism" (p. 186). Given the speculation that race may indeed be important when considering judgments of rap music and specifically works by 2 Live Crew, it is appropriate to measure racism in the present study. Measuring racism is a difficult task in any research project because of social desirability effects. Many studies have focused upon the development of a racism scale free of invalidity due to social desirability (McConahay, 1986). In this study we use the Attitudes Toward Blacks Scale (Brigham, 1993). We believe that subjects high in racism may be more likely to have a negative evaluation of 2 Live Crew's lyrics and to applaud the prosecution of 2 Live Crew because 2 Live Crew may validate stereotypes that the racist finds threatening.

Hypotheses The following hypotheses were tested: Hi: The more sexually explicit the music, the more the listener will find that the work appeals to a prurient interest and is patently offensive. Consistent with the legal premise that hard core sexual explicitness is offensive, we have hypoth- esized a general main effect for high sexual explicitness. H2: Women will react more negatively than men to sexually explicit music in the Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 context of rap based partially upon charges that rap is more misogynistic than other forms of music. A three-way (sex by musical genre by sexual explicitness) interaction is predicted for each of the outcome variables. Women will rate high sexually explicit rap music as more patently offensive, as having more prurient appeal, and they will rate rap music as having less artistic merit than men who are exposed to high sexually explicit rap music. H3: Listeners who score low relative to others on racism and who show appreciation for the features of rap mentioned above will rate 2 Live Crew as less patently offensive, less likely to appeal to a prurient interest, and will rate rap music as having greater artistic merit.

Method Study Design A 2 (subject sex—male, female) X 2 (musical genre—2 Live Crew rap or non rap) X 3 (sexual explicitness—high, medium, low) factorial experiment was undertaken. 226 OBSCENITY LAW AND RAP MUSIC DIXON AND LINZ Participants Participants were 161 female and 89 male undergraduate student volunteers. The sample was ethnically diverse and included 116 Whites, 77 Blacks, 34 Asians, 9 Latinos and Latinas, 9 multiracials, and 5 identified as "other." Students received extra credit for their participation or were paid five dollars. Participants were asked to listen either to rap music by 2 Live Crew or control materials equated for sexual explicitness and then asked to complete an evaluation questionnaire.

Procedure Participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions, rap or non-rap, and high, medium, or low sexual explicitness. Prior to beginning the study, subjects were told that they might be asked to listen to sexually explicit materials and that they could withdraw from the experiment at any time without penalty. (One female participant opted to withdraw from the experiment.) Subjects then completed a consent form. They were then asked to complete a pre-stimulus attitude and belief questionnaire, listen to the music in their assigned condition and complete the dependent measure questionnaire. Participants were then thanked, paid, and debriefed.

Attitude and Belief Questionnaire Rap Attitudes and Beliefs. Participants were asked to complete a 47-item questionnaire designed to assess their familiarity and appreciation of the attitudi- nal variables associated with rap music as well as their attitudes toward rap in general. These were factor analyzed using a Varimax rotation. Criteria for considering items from this set for inclusion in the final scales were that they had a substantial factor loading (above .50) and no substantial loading on any other factor. The analysis revealed eight factors. These included: (a) disaffection toward mainstream society (e.g., "There will never be justice in America for Black people."; 8 items, alpha = .86); (b) rebellious sexual attitudes (e.g., "Society would be a better place if people relaxed and had more sex for fun"; 9 items,

Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 alpha = .84); (c) endorsement of machismo (e.g., "I think that if you are a man, the more sexual partners you have, the better"; 4 items, alpha = .70); (d) appreciation of playing the dozens (e.g., "I think that this form of exaggeration is a respectable part of the experience of many Blacks."; 3 items, alpha = .80); (e) endorsement of Black in-group exclusivity (e.g., "It's acceptable for Blacks to do Rhythm & Blues (R&B) but it's not acceptable for Whites."; 5 items, alpha = .70); (f) appreciation of African American humor (e.g., "The motive of many of the comedians on Def Comedy Jam and In Living Color is to use exaggerated comedy about Blacks to diffuse stereotypes about Black sexuality."; 4 items, alpha = .70); (g) evaluation of rap's stylistic characteristics (e.g., "I like to hear music which uses sampling"; 5 items, alpha = .80); and (h) rap contributes to antisocial behavior (e.g., "The problem with rap music is that it advocates killing cops"; 9 items, alpha = .87).

Racial Attitudes. Brigham's (1993) Attitudes Toward Blacks Scale (ATB) was used (e.g., "I enjoy a funny racial joke even if some people might find it offensive," 227 JACR AUGUST 1997

"If a Black were put in charge of me, I would not mind taking advice and direction from him or her") (20 items, alpha = .77) to measure racism.

Music Lyrics Exposure Subjects were exposed to 3 songs per condition. Subjects were also given a written copy of the lyrics and were instructed to follow along with the music. Exposure time lasted between 15 and 17 minutes. Stimulus materials for the rap music conditions (high, medium, and low sexual explicitness) were taken from 2 Live Crew's "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" and "As Clean As They Wanna Be" albums. The two albums were produced for the express purpose of being identical in every way except for level of sexual explicitness. Both are nearly equal in length of time. Stimulus conditions for the non-rap conditions consisted of music from a variety of genres including: heavy metal, punk rock, general popular, and R & B . Sample lyrics taken from each of the six conditions follow.

High Sexually Explicit Rap. The high rap condition contained sexually explicit lyrics and profanity. Typical of these lyrics are the following from "Me So Horny" (As Nasty As They Wanna Be) by 2 Live Crew: Girls always ask me why I fuck so much, I say, 'What's wrong baby doll with a quick nut?' It's all in fun, and you shouldn't be mad. I won't tell your mama, if you don't tell your dad. I know he'll be disgusted, when he sees your pussy busted. Won't your mama be so mad, if she knew I got that ass? I'm like a freak in heat, a dog without warning; I have an appetite for sex, 'cause me so horny. 'Me so horny... Me love you long time...." You can say I'm desperate, even call me perverted, But you'll say I'm a dog when I leave you fucked and deserted. I'll play with your heart, just like it's a game. I'll be blowin' your mind, While you're blowing my brain. I'm just like that man they call Georgie Puddin' Pie, I fuck all the girls, and I make 'em cry. I'm like a dog in heat, a freak without warning; Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 I have an appetite for sex, 'cause me so horny.

Medium Sexually Explicit Bap. The medium rap condition contained similar sexual ideas but used less profane language. The lyrics continued to be focused on sexual themes but utilized words which contained more moderate sexual refer- ences. The sample lyrics below were taken from "Me So Horny" from the As Clean As They Wanna Be album by 2 Live Crew: Girls always ask me why I buck so much. I say what's wrong baby doll with being a nut. 'Cause my nature is rising and you shouldn't be mad. I won't tell your mama if you don't tell your dad. I know he'll be disgusted when he sees your clothes all messed up. Won't your mama be so mad if she knew you just been had? I'm a freak i n heat, a dog without warning. 228 OBSCENITY LAW AND RAP MUSIC DIXON AND LINZ

My appetite is love 'cause me so horny. You can say I'm desperate even call me perverted, But you say I'm a dog and I'll leave you lost and deserted. I'll play with your heart and won't show no shame. I'll be blowin' your mind 'cause your linked to the game. I'm just like that man they call Georgie Pudding Pie. I'll break the girls hearts and I make 'em cry. I'm like a dog in heat, a freak without warning. I have an appetite for love 'cause me so horny.

Low Sexually Explicit Rap. The low rap condition included a combination of songs from both 2 Live Crew albums that were determined to be essentially void of sexual explicitness. There is profanity, but it is not used in a sexual context. Although sexual innuendo is used, these songs do not focus on sex. The sample lyrics below are taken from "You Got Larceny" from the As Clean As They Wanna Be album by 2 Live Crew: Talk about me, why? Spreading rumors, telling lies; I'm real sensitive to the fact of why must you go out like that. You can't say nothing positive, all I get are negative responses. They say it's hard to keep a good man down, But it's not hard to help another off the ground. He said, she said, this and that, But who's telling the truth, it ain't like that. I knew something was wrong, I knew it all along, But nobody told me what was going on. So, just stop all this disrespect 'Cause now is the time for me to put you in check. They say that you was hurt but don't get mad at me. I'm talking to those who got larceny.

High Sexually Explicit Non-Rap. This condition contained sexually explicit lyrics which utilized profanity. The lyrics focused on sexual themes and utilized words which were replete with explicit sexual references within the context of melodic music (R&B, POP, ROCK, and other genres). The sample lyrics below are taken from "The Girls of Porn" from the Mr. Bungle album by Mr. Bungle: Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 We got gushin' gonads, tingling tushes Hairy balls and hairy bushes S & M , whips and chains Pregnant ladies with menstrual pains We got hand jobs and nipple tweaks Finger bangs and slappin' cheeks We got rape, necro and both ways And lots of hung studs for all you gays We got incest and bestiality too We got girls who'll eat your pee and poo And guys who'd love to fuck your shoe... You smell so bad, but you fuck so good.

Medium Sexually Explicit Non-Rap. This condition contained similar sexual ideas to the high non-rap condition but used less profane language. The lyrics 229 JACR AUGUST 1997

focused on sexual themes but utilize words which contain more moderate sexual references within the context of melodic music. The sample lyrics below are taken from "I Wanna Melt with You" from the Sign of The Times album by Prince: A funky little story about you and me Gettin' busy for awhile From the tip of my typhoon to the bottom of your ankle chains We gonna shake and shake and shake Until we're both deranged with endorphins This is the ultimate rave Ooh-I wanna melt with you S to the s Slow and slippery, groovy If we bathe in each other's lips In other words, get close enough to stick And I'll melt with you And you can melt with me too And we'll groove, and groove until the earth moves I want to melt with you

Low Sexually Explicit Non-Rap. This condition was void of sexual explicit- ness. There is profanity, but it is not used in a sexual context. Although there are one or two instances of sexual innuendoes, these songs do not focus on sex and are essentially void of any overt sexual themes. The sample lyrics below are taken from "Fear" from the Let Love Rule album by Lenny Kravitz: I smell the fear that rains inside The thought of children who must oblige To tainted dreams and polluted seas The missing moon and melting trees A mist of doom and clouds of pain Toxic waste and acid rain The passing of our ignorance A lifetime spent in abstinence Living in fear Conditioned to hate and then to blame Their search for God is just the same Machines for hearts, how warped a view Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 Forgetting that they're human too Waiting like a branded steer Who first will launch the burning spear When every day may be your last You think we'd learn from our past

Manipulation Check of Music Lyric Stimulus Materials Subjects, Procedure, and Pretest Measure. The stimulus materials were pretested to verify that the three levels of sexual explicitness were significantly different from one another and to verify that any differences between the rap and non-rap musical genres on sexual explicitness were negligible. Seventy-two student volunteers listened to the stimulus materials and then rated them on a sexual explicitness scale. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of six condi- tions in a 3 (high, medium, or low sexual explicitness) X 2 (rap or non-rap musical 230

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genre) factorial design. Subjects then completed a scale designed to measure the extent to which subjects believed the stimulus materials were sexually explicit (e.g., "Please rate how sexually explicit these lyrics are to you on a 1-7 scale" and "These songs are filled with overt references to sexual activity"; 8 items, alpha =.91).

Manipulation Check Results. There was a statistically significant main effect for sexual explicitness F (2, 63) = 110.82, p < .001. A Post-Hoc test (Scheffe) determined that all three levels of sexual explicitness differed significantly from one another. The low sexually explicit conditions (M = 17.18), medium sexually explicit conditions (M = 36.46) and the high sexually explicit conditions (M = 43.67) were significantly different from each other at the p < .05 level. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on the sexual explicitness scale to determine if there were any significant differences between the rap and non-rap conditions and the three levels of sexual explicitness. The ANOVA revealed no statistically significant differences between the rap (M = 34.28) and non-rap (M = 31.00) conditions in ratings of sexual explicitness, F[l, 64) = 1.51, p < .22. There were no statistically significant interactions between sexual explicitness and musical genre, F[2, 63) = 1.99, p < .14. We concluded that our two musical genre conditions (rap and non-rap) were equivalent in terms of sexual explicitness. In order to address the potential criticism that our lack of difference on sexual explicitness between rap and non-rap represented a lack of power and not, as we argue above, two conditions equivalent in terms of sexual explicitness, we performed a power test. The analysis answers the question: If there is a substantial difference between rap and non-rap, do we have enough power in our manipula- tion to detect such a difference? Because there is no prior research in this area, we assumed that the effect sizes obtained for our sexual explicitness manipulation would be a reasonable estimate of the likely effect size for the difference between the rap and non-rap conditions. Assuming such an effect size, we consulted Cohen's (1988) power analysis tables (d = 2.1, a2 = .05, and n^ = n2 = n = 35). This yielded a power coefficient of .99. This would suggest that if a difference of the magnitude that we detected for the sexual explicitness manipulations were to occur between rap and non-rap conditions, there is sufficient statistical power to detect this effect given the number of subjects in the pretest. Therefore, we Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 proceeded with the study on the assumption that the rap and non-rap conditions were equated on sexual explicitness.

Dependent Measures Dependent measure items were taken largely from Linz et al. (1995), who measured community standards for sexually explicit materials using items previously deemed admissible by a trial court in an obscenity prosecution. Twelve items were used to measure patent offensiveness, prurient appeal, and artistic merit. The items were factor analyzed using a Varimax rotation. Criteria for considering items from these sets for inclusion in the final scales were that they had a substantial factor loading (above .50) and that they did not significantly load on any other factor. Three primary dependent measures were derived from both sets of factor analyses. These included (a) patent offensiveness (e.g., "Is it or is it 231 JACR AUGUST 1997

not tolerated in your opinion for adults in your community to obtain and listen to such audio recordings, if they should want to?"; 5 items, alpha = .86); (b) prurient appeal (e.g., "Would listening to audio recordings describing sex acts in great detail and with verbal re-enactment of sexual behaviors appeal to any unhealthy, shameful, or morbid interest in sex that you might have?"; 3 items, alpha = .65); and (c) rap music as art (e.g., "Rap music is comparable to poetry"; 4 items, alpha = .61).

Results Determining Reactions to Stimulus Materials A separate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with Sex (Male or Female), Musical Genre (Rap or Non-Rap), and Sexual Explicitness (High, Medium, or Low) as independent variables was undertaken to measure stimulus reaction for each of the dependent measures—patent offensiveness, prurient appeal, and the extent to which rap is believed to have artistic merit. Attitudes toward rap and rap-related ideas including rebellious sexual attitudes, disaffection toward society, endorse- ment of machismo, Black-in-group exclusivity, endorsement of African American humor, liking rap's characteristics, and the belief that rap contributes to societal degradation were analyzed as covariates along with racism. Because we had no theoretical reason for controlling for the effect of the covariates either before or after the assessment of our main effects, we entered the covariates simultaneously such that they were assessed along with the main effects of our primary independent variables. All cells for the test of the three-way interactions contain n'sofl5to30.

Patent Offensiveness. The ANCOVA for patent offensiveness revealed a significant main effect for sexual explicitness, F(2,154) = 7.59, p < .001. The main effect is in the predicted direction and supported our first hypothesis. The high sexually explicit conditions (M = 16.95) were rated as more patently offensive than the low sexually explicit conditions (M = 12.29). The ANCOVA also revealed a significant two-way interaction for Musical Genre by Sexual Explicitness F(2, 154) = 5.74, p < .01. A Newman-Keuls post-hoc test revealed that high sexually explicit rap music (M = 19.83) was rated as more Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 patently offensive than the high sexually explicit non-rap music (M = 15.06) and more patently offensive when compared to all other stimulus music conditions [p < .05). This interaction is displayed in Figure 1. The ANCOVA revealed one significant covariate, rebellious sexual attitudes, F(l, 155) = 23.81, p < .001. An inverse relationship between holding rebellious sexual attitudes and ratings on patent offensiveness was found (see Table 1).

Prurient Appeal. The ANCOVA undertaken for the prurient appeal depen- dent measure revealed no statistically significant main effects or interactions for the primary independent variables. However, there were two significant covari- ates, disaffection toward society, F(l, 149) = 4.23, p < .05, and the belief that rap music contributes to societal disintegration, F(l, 149) = 5.87, p < .01. Disaffection toward society and the belief that rap music contributes to societal degradation are positively related to ratings of prurient appeal (see Table 1). 232 OBSCENITY LAW AND RAP MUSIC DIXON AND LINZ

20

17 60

C/l ! NON-RAP -RAP 1 14

11 LOW MEDIUM HIGH SEXUAL EXPLIOTNESS Figure 1. Listener ratings of patent offensiveness as a function of exposure to rap or non-rap music and level of sexual explicitness. Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011

Rap as Art. The ANCOVA revealed no statistically significant main effects or interactions for the primary independent variables. However, several covariates were statistically significant. Disaffection toward mainstream society, F(l, 155) = 5.94, p < .01, rebellious sexual attitudes, F(l, 155) = 5.74, p < .01, appreciation of the dozens, F(l, 155) = 15.75, p < .001, appreciation of African American humor, F(l, 155) = 5.80, p < .01, belief that rap music contributes to societal disintegra- tion, F(l, 155) = 10.08, p < .01, and liking rap's characteristics, F(l, 155) = 14.64, p < .001 were significantly related to judgments of rap music's artistic merit. Disaffection toward society, appreciation of the dozens, appreciation of African American humor, and liking rap's characteristics were positively associated with ratings of rap's artistic merit. Rebellious sexual attitudes and the belief that rap causes trouble were inversely related to ratings of rap's artistic merit (see Table 1). 233 JACR AUGUST 1997

TABLE 1 Patent Offensiveness, Prurient Appeal, and Artistic Merit as a Function of Attitudes and Beliefs About Rap Variables Dependent Predictors Regression Coefficients Patent Offensiveness Rebellious Sexual Attitudes -.28** Prurient Appeal Disaffection Toward Society .09* Rap Causes Trouble .11* Artistic Merit Disaffection Toward Society .08* Rebellious Sexual Attitudes -.08* Appreciation of the Dozens .25* It* Appreciation of African American Humor .14* Rap Causes Trouble -.11* Like Rap's Characteristics .21*** *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

Rap and Predicting Decisions Concerning Obscenity As mentioned earlier, a fact-finder in an obscenity case is generally asked to render a judgment based on three components, that a work: 1) is patently offensive, 2) appeals to a prurient interest, and 3) lacks artistic merit. In order to understand what combination of predictor variables contributes to patent offensiveness, prurient interest and artistic merit, a stepwise discriminant function analysis was performed. This analysis was undertaken with only those listeners exposed to rap music. A median split was created on all three dependent measures. Listeners who were above the median on measures of patent offensiveness and prurient appeal and were below the median on rap music as art measures were put into one group. This group was compared to all others who were exposed to rap music. Most of the predictor variables used in the earlier ANCOVAs were used to predict group membership. These variables include: racism, disaffection toward society, rebel- lious sexual attitudes, machismo, appreciation of playing the dozens, Black- ingroup exclusivity, appreciation of African American humor, believing that rap music contributes to societal degradation, and liking rap's characteristics. The participant sex variable was not included in the discriminant analysis because it was not related to any of the outcome variables and because a discriminant Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 function analysis is not suited for dichotomous predictor variables. In addition, the categorical independent variable of explicit condition used in the ANCOVAs was replaced with the sexual explicitness scale used in the pretest. Results indicated that a weighted combination of two variables could success- fully predict group membership (Wilks' Lambda = .84, F[2, 90] = 8.49, p < .001), leading to an 86% accurate group re-classification rate. Those who had low rebellious sexual attitudes and believed that rap music contributes to societal degradation were more likely to be classified as being "high" on all three components of obscenity law. In other words, these participants rate 2 Live Crew as patently offensive and as appealing to the prurient interest, and they also rate rap as lacking artistic merit. Participants scoring high on the rebellious sexual attitudes scale and who did not believe that rap music contributes to societal degradation were more likely to be "low" on all three components of obscenity law. 234 OBSCENITY LAW AND RAP MUSIC DIXON AND LINZ Discussion As expected, level of sexual explicitness influenced listeners' ratings of patent offensiveness for both rap and non-rap music. However, more interesting is the role that the combination of musical genre and sexual explicitness play in listener judgments. Our results indicate that subjects found 2 Live Crew Nasty (Highly sexually explicit rap) condition more patently offensive when compared to equally highly sexually explicit non-rap music. Further, listeners who hold "rebellious sexual attitudes" (e.g., those who believe that it is acceptable to be sexually forward and to joke openly about sex) found the 2 Live crew less patently offensive. Surprisingly, rebellious sexual attitudes among listeners did not have an effect on ratings of prurient appeal. Instead, subject disaffection toward society (e.g., belief that Blacks are oppressed) and the belief that rap contributes to societal degradation (e.g., belief that people will imitate rap's negative message) were significantly related to judgments of prurient appeal. Evaluations of rap's artistic value were also predicted by disaffection toward society, rebellious sexual attitudes and the belief that rap contributes to societal degradation. In addition, appreciation of the dozens (e.g., the belief that expressions of verbal exaggeration are culturally valuable), appreciation of African American humor (e.g., favorable impressions of comedians who send sexually explicit and politically controversial messages), and appreciation of rap's primary musical characteristics (e.g., the use of sampling and emphasis on the beat) predicted artistic value ratings. Finally, rebellious sexual attitudes and the belief that rap contributes to societal degrada- tion were significantly related to the combination of the three legal dependent measures (patent offensiveness, prurient appeal, and artistic merit) after exposure to 2 Live Crew. We discuss each of these findings below.

"As Nasty as They Wanna Be" Subjects listening to the Nasty condition of 2 Live Crew rated the music more patently offensive than equally sexually explicit non-rap music. There are at least two potential explanations for this effect. It may be that the 2 Live Crew Nasty version places an emphasis on sex beyond being merely sexually explicit and this may offend listeners. The purpose of the music according to its creators is to focus openly upon a sexual theme. Luther Campbell, leader of 2 Live Crew, has often

Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 stated that his group's use of sex is a marketing tool to promote record sales (Nash, 1991). Rap music in general deliberately accentuates lyrics over melody, whereas other genres often seek to suppress certain lyrics (Rose, 1994). Scholars of music note that rock musicians have avoided censorship by using poor pronunciation and excessive loudness to cover controversial lyrics (Campbell, 1991; Clark, 1990). Rock musicians, unlike rap artists, also appear to employ the use of double entendres more often in order to soften offensive ideas while still permitting the listener to interpret the work properly (Berry & Woolin, 1986; Block, 1990). Rap musicians not only eschew these softening strategies but often accentuate sexually controversial song lyrics. Sexually explicit rap may have been judged as offensive by listeners because the words to the music are not subtly masked by the melody but are emphasized openly. In essence, the rap listeners in our study may have felt that the music was not only sexually explicit but blatantly so. A second explanation for the differences in offensiveness ratings between rap and non-rap may lie in the aggressive personas that rap artists cultivate as part of 235

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their performances. Rap musicians create characters drawn from street life culture who are often aggressive and angry. Listeners may have reacted negatively to the hostile images of characters personified by the rappers.

Rebellious Sexual Attitudes, Patent Offensiveness, and Prurient Appeal Listeners who held rebellious sexual attitudes had lower ratings on the patent offensiveness variable for both rap and non-rap. This variable may tap a fundamental attitude about comedy and sexually explicit lyrics. Those with rebellious sexual attitudes appear to find humor in sexually explicit materials and this mitigates the offensiveness. Recall that the jury in the 2 Live Crew live performance case apparently found the group's lyrics humorous and acquitted it. More surprising, however, is that rebellious sexual attitudes were not as helpful in explaining ratings of prurient appeal. At first it may seem that this finding indicates that those with rebellious sexual attitudes reject the social constraints and norms regarding sexuality which are elicited by questions about prurient appeal. However, if this was the case, we would expect an inverse relationship between the variables, not a null effect. Instead, two variables, disaffection toward society and the belief that rap contributes to societal degradation were related to it. This relationship is perplexing because on the surface these predictor variables do not appear to be conceptually related to sex. One explanation for these findings is that the court's definition of prurient appeal (whether a work appeals to a morbid or unhealthy interest in sex) is cumbersome and confusing to subjects. This may have led to a broader reading of the prurient appeal questions than we intended. It is possible, for example, that subjects interpreted the terms "morbid and un- healthy interest in sex" as referring to a more general societal corruption and moral decline rather than meaning the perversion of personal attitudes toward sex. The disaffection toward society variable, although specifically intended to represent identification with the plight of African Americans in this country, may have been read by subjects as asking about the decline of society generally.

Rap Elements and Artistic Merit Several attitudes and beliefs about rap were crucial in predicting whether a listener would find that it has artistic value. They included: disaffection toward

Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 mainstream society, rebellious sexual attitudes, appreciation of the dozens, appreciation of African American humor, the belief that rap causes societal degradation, and liking rap's characteristics. With the exception of a negative relationship between rap as art and rebellious sexual attitudes, all others were in the expected direction. We appear to have found a set of variables that successfully predicts a positive evaluation of rap music as a form of artistic expression. Decision making about the artistic merit prong of obscenity law may also rely on these listener evaluations.

Predicting Reactions to 2 Live Crew Two variables, rebellious sexual attitudes and the belief that rap music causes societal degradation, predicted reactions to 2 Live Crew on the combination of all three of the legal dependent variables: prurient interest, patent offensiveness, and artistic merit. One possible interpretation is that listeners believe rap music causes 236 OBSCENITY LAW AND RAP MUSIC DIXON AND LINZ

societal degradation because children may mimic the lyrics. In fact, many critics of rap have argued that the potential for imitation of the lyrics is the most disturbing feature of the genre (Will, 1990). Likewise, listeners who have a more relaxed attitude toward sex (i.e., those who hold rebellious sexual attitudes) may believe that the free expression of sex is a liberating experience and are entertained by this openness. They seem to find more enjoyment in 2 Live Crew's brand of rap music. This comports with the intentions of many rappers regarding sexually provocative lyrics. Luther Campbell has stated that his goal is to promote sexual comedy with his records (Nash, 1991).

The Elusiveness of Racism and Sex Effects We found no effects for sex in this study when controlling for all other factors. The lack of a sex effect was surprising since it is generally assumed that women are more easily offended by sexually explicit lyrics than men. We predicted that women would find sexually explicit rap music most offensive because the content of rap music is not hidden behind the melodic portion of the music but is accentuated for shock value. Instead, they found both forms equally offensive. We expected that racism would also be an important component in listeners' judgments about rap. Much of the social condemnation of 2 Live Crew had racial overtones. At its worst, 2 Live Crew's critics portrayed these Black rappers as vicious savages who were poised to engage in sexual assault. Scholars have argued that the demonization of Black men through the condemnation of rap music is part of a long history of racism rooted in a double standard—Black men's sexuality is assumed to be inherently more threatening than White men's sexuality (Dyson, 1996). For these reasons, we expected listeners relatively high in this form of racism to find sexually explicit rap music more offensive than other forms of music. In spite of this expectation, we found no effect for racism as measured in the present study. It is possible that the Attitudes Toward Blacks Scale used in this study did not specifically tap this form of racism. A specific measure of this double standard might reveal a relationship between racism and intolerance for rap music. More generally, it is difficult to measure racism in a format free of social desirability effects (McConohay, 1986) and this may have diminished any

Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 relationship between racism and intolerance for rap music in this study. There may not have been enough variability in responses to the Attitudes Toward Blacks scale to allow for the assessment of a relationship between racism and intolerance for rap music.

Practical Applications There are at least three practical applications of the findings of this study. The first pertains to rap record production. The present study demonstrates that deliberate attempts by record producers to lower the amount of sexual explicitness in a record do have an empirically verifiable effect on listeners. Highly sexually explicit rap music is rated more patently offensive than sexually explicit rap music that has been purged of its most overt sexual references. However, while listeners may rate the less explicit versions as more acceptable to the community, this version is not necessarily popular. The 2 Live Crew albums at issue in this study were identical in every aspect except for level of sexual explicitness. 237

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Nevertheless, the group's less sexually explicit "Clean" album was outsold by their "Nasty" album by more than a 2 to 1 ratio (Nash, 1991). The findings of this study also may have legal implications. Obscenity law requires that the fact-finder rely on community standards for determining whether a particular work is patently offensive or appeals to the prurient interest. Experts have assisted the court by informing the jury and judge about these standards with scientific surveys of community members. Descriptions of this technique are available (Linz et al. 1991; Linz et. al, 1995). This study extends this line of research into the area of music, specifically rap music that has been charged as obscene. This study isolates a set of easily administered listener questions concerning the acceptability of rap music that can be used to assess community standards. This information may be useful to the court in future obscenity hearings. These findings also have implications for social scientific jury selection in obscenity cases. We have identified several attitudinal factors correlated with listeners' evaluation of rap music. In particular, our findings suggest level of rebellious sexual attitudes and the extent to which listeners' believe rap music contributes to societal degradation are related to whether they will find rap lyrics obscene. Questions could be put to prospective jurors during voir dire regarding these beliefs. Responses to these questions could inform the court about possibly biased decision makers.

Summary of Findings and Directions for Future Research In summary, rebellious sexual attitudes, believing that rap contributes to societal degradation, and level of sexual explicitness are the most important variables for predicting reactions to rap music. These variables are crucial for determining whether listeners believe that rap music is patently offensive, appeals to prurient interests, and lacks artistic merit. Furthermore, rap's artistic merit is predicted by several attitudes and beliefs about rap including appreciation of the dozens, African American humor, and rap's primary musical characteristics. There may be several directions for future research. First, the focus of the research should be broadened to include a wider community of respondents. Factors such as age and socioeconomic status may play a role in the judgment of sexually explicit rap music. The present sample does not allow for the examina- Downloaded By: [University of California, Santa Barbara] At: 18:16 20 January 2011 tion of these factors or a delineation of community standards, more broadly defined, regarding obscenity law and rap music. Second, research should focus on other genres of rap music. One of the fastest growing styles of rap is known as "gangsta" or "reality" rap. Past research has suggested that the social themes contained in gangsta or reality rap music videos can produce potent and predictable effects on viewers' subsequent impressions and social judgments through the mechanism of cognitive priming (Hansen, 1995; Johnson et al., 1995; Zillmann et al., 1995). However, none of these studies focuses on the variables which may predict enjoyment or acceptance of this tremendously popular form of rap music.

Endnotes 1. After listening to several of the songs on the 2 Live Crew album, the sheriff transcribed the lyrics and presented them to a Broward county judge who said that there was probable cause that the record was obscene (Campbell, 1991; Clark, 1990). 2 Live Crew claimed that the record was not obscene and 238 OBSCENITY LAW AND RAP MUSIC DIXON AND LINZ

that the sheriffs action constituted a prior restraint of speech. The group filed suit in Federal Court to have the sheriffs actions curhed. However, the Judge instead ruled that "As Nasty As They Wanna Be" was obscene. Experts did not testify before the court regarding the recording's article value. According to one legal critic, the judge "... virtually ruled out any possibility of finding musical value in rhythmic music, stating that the Nasty record is essentially no more than a transcript of its lyrics" (Clark, 1990; p. 1502). On June 8, record store owner Charles Freeman was arrested foT selling the "Nasty" album. He was convicted by a six member jury in a separate court case (Campbell, 1991; Clark, 1990). He was the first individual ever convicted of selling an obscene record. Freeman was fined $1,000 and vowed to appeal (Campbell, 1991). The U.S. Court of Appeals eventually reversed the original obscenity ruling by Judge Gonzalez (Curiam, 1992, Luke Records Inc. vs. Navarro, 1992).

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