This morning, the US Congress held a hearing to discuss sexist, violent and degrading lyrics in hip-hop music. Entitled “From Imus to Industry: The Business of Stereotypes and Degrading Images,” the hearing was spearheaded by Democratic Representative Bobby Rush of Illinois, the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.

David Banner appeared and said in a prepared statement:

If by some stroke of the pen hip-hop was silenced, the issues would still be present in our communities. Drugs, violence and the criminal element were around long before hip-hop existed.