Cathy Hughes On Black Female Images in Media - Page 2

MN: But, isn’t the “record industry” influential in promoting certain vulgar artists?

 CH: Do I think that the record companies put pressure on the hip hoppers who want to be gangsta rappers? Yes, they want them talking about *** your mama, slap the police upside the head, a woman aint nothin’ but a [b word]. But, to me, if you weren’t naturally inclined to be profane and vulgar then getting a record deal would not all of a sudden turn you into a vulgar person. I think these are individuals that have that those propensities anyway and will record companies put it out? Heck yes, because they make a lot of money from it.

MN: What about companies having a greater sense of accountability?

 CH: We had a contract, a $100k annual contract for a hamburger joint and the tag line was “So Good, It’ll Make You Slap Your Mama.” I refused to accept the commercial [even though] we needed the money. And, people were like, I can’t believe Ms. Hughes is not going to let us take this [contract], and I said any food that even makes you think of slapping your mama is poison. We are a little more sanitized than a whole lot of the other corporations. I don’t consider myself an old prude but I do believe that young folks should be respectful.

MN: Where do you see Radio One in a few years?

CH: Continuing to grow, continuing to super service the African-American community. We plan to be the voice of the black community; we plan to be the most successful corporation programmed to African Americans. [We’re] not trying to be just a successful black company, I want us to be a successful company that has the African American community as its top priority. We’ve never had that before, particularly in media.