In any creative art, there lies the risk of upsetting people. Add in the fast pace of technology, and how art is shared and it's even more likely to happen. Back in the day, music consumption was limited to a few TV channels and the radio if personal ownership to play some songs wasn't an option. Now rappers' albums are all over streaming platforms and the internet, along with being on demand. This means more eyes and ears on music and its videos, but also heightens the chance of this controversial art causing a problem in addition to getting forcibly removed from play due to issues and backlash.
Over the years, quite a few songs and videos from your favorite rappers have ended up being banned in some way due to their content. To no surprise, hip-hop finds itself in the crosshairs pretty often. A ton of rappers have had their music banned from radio stations, often due to offensive lyrical content. Lil Wayne got his music banned from Michigan's WUVS 103.7 for saying "Beat that pussy up like Emmett Till" on Future's "Karate Chop" in 2013. The same station banned Rick Ross for the dreaded "Molly all in her champagne" lyrics on Rocko's "U.O.E.N.O" that same year.
On the other side of the coin, plenty of rap acts have had their music banned because of things they said outside of their rhymes. Kanye West got banned from Detroit's 105.1 The Bounce for saying slavery was a choice when he was on TMZ Live in 2018, a comment that soured a lot of people who were once supportive of Ye. A few years later, The Game got the video for his 2011 song "Red Nation" banned solely because it had too much Bloods-repping action going on in it. All of this is par for the course, as actions and the things artists choose to stand behind can affect their social standing.
Take a look below to see the banned hip-hop songs your favorite rappers have experienced during their careers.
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