The Source co-owner and founder Dave Mays, appeared
on Bill O’Reilly’s "O’Reilly Factor" television show on Feb. 18.,
after the magazine criticized O’Reilly
for his repeated commentaries on "thug rap," labeling him a "racist"
and a "hypocrite" in the March issue of the magazine.
"There are issues as far as what rap music’s
impact is that’s allow to get to kids that’s adult oriented music and adult
oriented material," Mays admitted. "Those
are some issues within the hip-hop community that we discuss."
O’Reilly said the only reason hip-hop attacks
O’him is because there is no other way to win the "argument, " which
mays disagreed with, labeling O’Reilly a racist, who promoted racist points
of views.
O’Reilly then interrupted Mays. "Just the
fact that you say that and you use that argument because I criticize this pernicious
industry, cheapens you. You’re not rebutting my argument based upon facts and
testimony, you’re saying that because I make the argument, I am a racist,"
O’Reilly said.
Mays continued, saying that O’Reilly represented
a powerful media, that promoted stereotypes and imagery that programs minds,
contributes to the notion of white supremacy and "middle America’s fear
of black people."
"If I were fabricating this stuff you’d
be right," O’Reilly shot back. "We know what the lyrics that Ludacris
put out are, we know what the lyrics Eminem put out are, we know the lyrics
that Jay-Z put out. They are down on paper. I couldn’t care less about their
lifestyle."
May interrupted, telling O’Reilly he was reducing
the rappers to a lyric on the page, which O’Reilly agreed to, saying that a
nine year-old kid who hears "these insidious lyrics," would adopt
them into their "presentation."
"Once they do that it hurts them and stigmatizes
them, and they cannot fight the battle that they need to succeed," O’Reilly
continued. "You cannot deny the stats,
you cannot the damage. You sell, mind poison. You’ve gotten rich off that! You
should be on my side!"
Mays disagreed, saying that he sold and promoted a culture that empowers people
and creates entrepreneurs.
"Hip-hop has created a generation of those
same nine year-olds that your thinking of, that now believe that they can build
business and overcome the way society programs them, the way people like you
who want to impose your point of view and your way of thinking, that paternalistic
way on everybody else," Mays said. "We’re supposed to listen to you,
because you think you know everything, and you haven’t spent a day in the hood."
O’Reilly disagreed, saying that he indeed spent
28 years reporting in the worst neighborhoods in America.
Mays said that hip-hop created a generation of
youth who had self esteem and that O’Reilly should respect the influence the
culture truly possesses.
"I’m down with that," O’Reilly said.
"But I am not down with the poison stuff."
"We should all be concerned about that and
focus on the few negative things," Mays concluded.
