By Erin Kelly
Northeastern’s Council for University Programs (CUP) works hard to bring a variety of different speakers, performers and artists like Lisa Lampanelli and David Coleman to the Northeastern campus, CUP members said. Yet some of these performers, like Ludacris and Tucker Max, may highlight a history of controversial issues within their lyrics and texts.
Tucker Max, who spoke in front of a sold-out crowd in Blackman auditorium March 24, is the author of “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell,” and writes a blog detailing his craziest sexual encounters and drunkest moments. His post titles include “The Blowjob Follies” and “Tucker tries buttsex; hilarity does not ensue.”
Ludacris, who will perform at the Springfest concert at Matthews Arena April 12, is a rapper with albums and songs containing lyrics that throw the terms “bitch” and “ho” around loosely.
Degrading lyrics, while spoken freely in rap music, have an impact on women and young girl’s self-image, said Claire Harwell, director of the Campus Center for Violence Against Women.
“I think it’s important for people to realize [rap music] has a significant impact on young girls’ self-image when they listen to a lot of rap and hip-hop with this kind of misogyny,” Harwell said. “It is a reason to be concerned about those lyrics because they are not harmless, fun lyrics where we can ignore the content.”
Ludacris’ lyrics reflect what is happening within society, Harwell said.
“I think Ludacris reflects what is happening in a broader society, and frankly, it’s what sells. So he chooses to refer to women as “bitches” and “hos,” because [society is] willing to buy that,” Harwell said.
Some students, like freshman nursing major Natalia Dematteo, finds these performances offensive.
“Some of the people [who come] are so repulsive. I cringe every time I hear some of Ludacris’ songs, especially the song ‘What’s Your Fantasy,'” she said.
Others think people who feel that way are being too sensitive.
“Give me a break. … It’s called artistic freedom,” said sophomore business major Dan Hurley.
Brian Vinikoor, chair of Springfest 2008, said choosing what artists or performers appear on campus is a process determined by many factors.
“We talk about what the campus wants, and who would be the most appealing,” Vinikoor said. “We have to see who’s available and who we have the money for.”
While CUP members and committees considered the controversial content of Max’s stories and Ludacris’ lyrics before inviting them to Northeastern, the demand for these performers exceeded any disagreement of hosting them, Vinikoor said.
“In the end it’s all about having a sold-out concert that everyone is psyched for, and we definitely accomplished that,” Vinikoor said.
The Springfest concert sold out in less than three hours, Vinikoor said. Tucker Max’s performance, which was originally scheduled to take place in Curry Student Center’s Grand Ballroom, had to be moved to Blackman Auditorium to accommodate more students, since tickets were in such a high demand. Max’s presentation was also a sold out performance, Vinikoor said.
Students and campus organizations have not shown strong signs of disapproving the performers, said Eric Frankenberg, a freshman music industry major and general council member for CUP.
“I don’t think students take [the lyrics or content] seriously, considering these performers’ mass appeal and popularity. I don’t know the demographics,” he said “But I’m confident in saying there’s a fair percentage of women who bought tickets.”
Gabriel Wolf, a freshman economics major, said that although Ludacris and Max are offensive, they are not unlike other rappers and comedians.
“Unfortunately, [Ludacris’] lyrics are the product of mainstream media,” she said. “It’s very, very hard to make it big in the rap industry unless you rap about a very select predefined set of subjects. In the case of Tucker Max, I think he is offensive, but as with many comedians, he makes fun of everybody.”
