blame for not exercising some degree of control (Sims 3). He also thinks that it has made black children think that being hard is the definition for being black in the 1990's. There are many people who feel this way, but many rappers and defenders of rap disagree. Most rappers do not think that their music causes violence and that they have no influence on their listeners. Before Easy-E died his lawyer read a letter from the rapper that said, "anyone could get AIDS, that it does not discriminate" (Marriot 74). After the letter was read the Minority AIDS Project in South-Central Los Angeles reported an 80 percent increase in requests for AIDS testing. This was more of an increase than when Magic Johnson made his announcement (Marriot 74). His influence was seen in warning people about the AIDS virus just as Magic did when he found out he had HIV. Joseph Simmons, known as Run of Run D.M.C., says that he has seen a rise in disrespect to women lately. But he thinks that it has more to do with the parents rather than the rappers. M.C. Lyte, a pioneer among female rappers agrees that parents need to take more responsibility for how their children act and behave. She also thinks that rap should not be the blame for what young people are doing today because movies also show violence, rapes, and people being killed (Marroitt, "Hard-core" A1+). Russell Simmons, CEO of Def Jam Recordings, says that each type of music that comes later seems more violent than before. There was a time when everyone thought that rock and roll was the "devils' music". He says that many of these songs are like horror films and cannot be taken literally (Proffitt M2). He also points out the good views of rap--that it is so diverse and there are a lot of positive messages in the songs (Profitt M3). Other rap experts point out the genre turning points. In the 1990's the messages about black empowerment that started national slogans and the wearing of African pride medallio...
