DJ Respond To a Rapper Who Threatens To Rape a Woman...TRIGGER WARNING/LANGUAGE WARNING

[one_voice]

On Monday, a young and rowdy crowd gathered at The Jump Off in London for an old-fashioned rap battle. Everyone was hoping for a good time, an evening free of any publicly declared threats of back-alley rape of women.

The man you see intervening (at the 31-second mark) is Nihal Arthanayake. He is a 42-year-old BBC Radio presenter, DJ, and family man. His artistic and professional influences include Mos Def, Bill Withers, Jon Stewart, and Mark Ronson. He hosts shows devoted to discussing and debating the issues facing British Asians. He interviews a wide variety of guests, including Fatima Khan, mother of a British doctor who died while being held in custody in Syria. Nihal has also occasionally stepped in controversy.

He can also rap—and on Monday, he put that skill to particularly good use. During the rap battle, MC Lighte The Boom Box said to his female opponent MC D'Klastro that, "bitch, after this, in the alley, you gonna get raped." This did not seem to go over well with the audience, and seconds later, Nihal (who was a judge at the event) interrupted the battle, got on-stage, and grabbed a mic. Here's part of what he said:

What the fuck, you fat idiot?

Didn't you have a mum? Didn't you have a sister? Why you so dumb?

Misogynistic prick. Talking, you think you're sick.

*snip*

http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2014/02/nihal-arthanayake-dj-bbc-radio-rap-battle-mc-threaten-rape-interview?utm_medium=Facebook&utm_source=mjfb


I enjoy good battles. That being said, KUDOS to the guy that took that piece of crap down!

[msongs]

1. typical of the genre, why the sudden outrage? that horse was out of the barn 20 yrs ago nt

[Fawke Em]

2. Does that mean we can't try to change it now?

[RadiationTherapy]

3. What "genre"? Poetry? Poetry set to beats and bass? You sit back and the people who care

can care enough to challenge these moments with or without your interest in the matter.

[bettyellen]

4. not always. why the outrage over the outrage? it's healthy to push back. the crowd did not like

the rape comment, and they loved it when the other mc set him straight.
that was awesome.

[geek tragedy]

5. your indifference to rape threats is duly noted nt

[TheFrenchRazor]

12. maybe people finally got a clue that this sh*t's not cool?? nt

[Aldo Leopold]

17. .|..

[LadyHawkAZ]

22. Slightly more than 20...

"And now this lustful lord leap'd from his bed,
Throwing his mantle rudely o'er his arm;
Is madly toss'd between desire and dread;
Th' one sweetly flatters, th' other feareth harm;
But honest fear, bewitch'd with lust's foul charm,
Doth too too oft betake him to retire,
Beaten away by brain-sick rude desire.

His falchion on a flint he softly smiteth,
That from the cold stone sparks of fire do fly;
Whereat a waxen torch forthwith he lighteth,
Which must be lode-star to his lustful eye;
And to the flame thus speaks advisedly,
'As from this cold flint I enforced this fire,
So Lucrece must I force to my desire.'"

~William Shakespeare, a white guy not immersed in the rap genre.

[Bluenorthwest]

29. Of course that poem does not promote rape and is in fact a telling of events from Ovid

The reaction to the rape of Lucrece and her subsequent suicide lead to revolt against the rapist and his father the king, who were driven out of Rome. Thus began the Roman Republic. To compare it to some misogynistic pop lyric is fairly inaccurate. A very far cry from what is described in the OP.

[whathehell]

23. I HAVE been outraged for 20 years and I'm glad about the audience smackdown..

[dickthegrouch]

6. I hope a lot has changed in the UK

When I was in college and attempting to come out and discover who I was, I was asked many times by other youths whether I wanted to be raped. I was terrified the first time I was asked that - the answer was "yes, I wanted sex with him, but not to be raped". It seemed many in the UK were too immature to ask the real question and asked something they deemed more acceptable!

It seems to me that that immaturity has actually caused some of the problem since the use of "do you want to be raped" instead of "do you want to be fucked" has diminished the connotations.

I wonder if the same thing has happened in other cultures.

[cinnabonbon]

7. It was so cool!

More people ought to stand up like that. He had guts to do so.

[kalisto2010]

8. In a rap battle there's no rules!

I've heard WAY worse things than this in rap battles. Nothing is off limits in a rap battle, and both MC's know and agree to it prior to doing so. As a lifelong rap fan and former battle rapper myself, I have to confess that British rappers on the most part sound really lame. There's actually some really talented British rappers too, but their accents are just too proper and non threatening when they're accentuating their punchlines. The weird thing is while the hip hop culture is stagnating in America it's exploding over in Europe.

[TheFrenchRazor]

11. hey, it's rap, so it's all good... NOT. nt

[one_voice]

14. I agree about there being no...

rules.

But recently rappers have had to apologize for things that might not have been a problem before.

Lil Wayne and the Emmett Till lyrics.

J. Cole and the autism lyrics. His apology was fantastic.

I think people are drawing lines...who knows how far or long it will go.

I personally think if you have to rap about raping someone you have zero talent.

[kalisto2010]

16. That's why music is subjective

Some people find art in what other deem as trash. Eminem is the most talented rapper or all time, and raped about raping his own mother. Sick I know.

[Lordquinton]

19. Well, you proved your point about music being subjective

nt

[whathehell]

25. It seems the only people there are "no rules" for, especially in a pc environment, are WOMEN

As Nation writer Katha Pollitt said "Misogyny is the last acceptable bigotry of the Left",

But yes, if this incident is an indication, it seems lines ARE being drawn against degrading

half the human race and it's ABOUT fucking time!

[geek tragedy]

18. rap rules do not preempt the rest of society. anyone who talks up raping

another person is a piece of shit.

[whathehell]

26. Thank you.....n/t

[JoeyT]

20. Two people agreeing to no rules isn't really much of a defense.

If it were, we'd still have ritualized duels that ended at death, as long as both participants agreed. Instead we view people that suggest pistols at twenty paces as crazy throwbacks that are detrimental to a functional society.

It's high time we view people that threaten rape the same way, whatever medium they choose to do it in.

[BrotherIvan]

9. So the only way to get the jump on a female is to threaten her with RAPE?

Goes right for the low blow. It's so easy. It's all over the internet in the comment sections too. It's how troglodytes shut down an argument. Even here, where it's supposed to be about wit and poetry.

Glad the crowd did not approve. (Too bad the only way to respond was with fat-shaming.) That shit ALWAYS needs to be shut down. That's why idiots who take offense saying men don't need to be told not to rape or that they are supporting rapists by refusing to speak out against it need to STFU. Because dumbasses will think it's ok, and no big deal, and then wield it like a club. Fuck. That. Shit.

[TheFrenchRazor]

10. but... but... it's ART!!! rap is like "comedy;" you can say anything you want and

nobody is allowed to call you on it. NOT!!!!! frankly. i'm shocked and pleasantly surprised that anybody did call this MoFo out on his hateful spew. maybe it is the beginning of the end for hate-rap.

[Beartracks]

21. That's the Republican Defense: "It was just a joke!" n/t

[whathehell]

27. You get it...Thanks.

Many do not.

[snooper2]

13. That was kind of weak, Here's a REAL rap battle!

EPIC RAP BATTLES OF HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Adam

VS.

EVE!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

15. Lol

[one_voice]

24. LOL! Epic...

[Warren DeMontague]

28. This is the kind of rap I prefer.