"Some people still see the suffering and the ignorance in the communities and the lack of opportunity – educational opportunity – lack of funding for health care and these things," said Simmons, "or if they still feel the police are an occupying force, they make a good song. My favorite song is ‘F--- tha Police.’ Right? Listen, I’m old. I like that song."
Simmons told CNSNews.com: "I don’t think there’s anything wrong with anything they said. They are not saying anything that’s not true."
"F— tha Police" was a big song for the rap group N.W.A., which included the rapper Ice Cube, who’s now mainstreamed himself enough to star as the lovable father figure in films like Are We There Yet? But on this track, he boasted about a bloodbath of Los Angeles police officers:
Ice Cube will swarm/On any mother f----- in a blue uniform.
Just cause I’m from the CPT, punk police are afraid of me.
A young n---- on a warpath/And when I'm finished, it's gonna be a bloodbath
Of cops, dyin’ in LA.
There’s nothing wrong with what he said there? Simmons kept up the argument: "While they point the fingers at the rappers, they continue – not only all the smart people, the sophisticates – continue to bomb innocent people, ignore the poor," he said. "They continue to, you know, God knows how many horrible things we support."
These questions weren’t thrown at Simmons when he was interviewed by NPR’s Weekend Edition on January 17. He was brought on to discuss how the hip-hop community registered voters for Obama. Simmons didn’t tell NPR his favorite song was F— tha Police." He suggested he was much more indecisive than that:
SIMMONS: You know, I turn on the radio and someone says, what's your favorite record? And I say, sometimes, the one on the radio. There's something inside them that we're looking for that makes them special and have a lasting and stable career. And I never know what that is until it hits me.
SIMON: Mr. Simmons, forgive me not knowing, you have met President Obama -- President-elect Obama?
SIMMONS: Oh,yeah.
SIMON: And when you get his ear, what do you say to him, if we may ask?
SIMMONS: The president -- now I haven't spoken to him since after the election. But I don't know, you know, what am I going to say? You know, prison reform. He said he liked retroactivity, where Senator Clinton didn't. Animal rights, nine billion suffering farm animals. You know what, I think the arts in the schools -- small -- meditation in schools. The worst school in Detroit is now the best as a result of sitting still, quiet time. Little things he can promote, he could make a difference.
Wait, wait. So Russell Simmons is okay with killing the cops, but not killing the cows?
Actually, Simmons has been honored by police groups, so why is he promoting cop-killer songs as his favorites?
