Loon Speaks on Why He Chose Islam Over Rap

I have to say, Loon has done a very noble thing by walking away from the temptations of the industry to devote his life to Islam. Although one could argue that he wasn't worth much anymore since he was no longer affiliated with Diddy, the point still stands, his decision is one that not many would make. I take him a little more serious than I did Ma$e who has returned to rap 20 times since becoming a minister. Well, I'd say there's nothing wrong with rapping, or being in the industry if you remain true to the faith you promote, but from what I've heard from Ma$e, he hasn't. I may be wrong though *shrug*

Nevertheless, Loon outlines just why he did what he did and he makes some very good points. You have to wonder how some record label execs and artist can live with themselves at night knowing they just cheated someone out of _____ amount of dollars or knowing they sacrificed their morale, dignity or even manhood for money, something superficial. To each its on though, and much respect to all religions and beliefs.

Rapper Gets Two Years in Prison for "Kill Me a Cop" Song

In theory, this song is a threat, so in that sense, it's wrong, but there have been worse songs in the history in hip hop with the same theme and the penalty then didn't go past the government attempting to censor it. I guess what seperates this one from the pack is the fact that he specifically mentions the cops names. My take on things like this is, yes, the message is conflicted and disturbing, but songs like this are a s a cry for help. Instead of imprisoning minorities for relaying messages like this, those who take offense should take a second to dissect the message to better understand where the artist is coming from. They should ask, "Why would he even feel the need to make song like this?" Or "What's the motivation for this song?" I don't agree with the way some rappers attempt to get their point across or how they verbalize their struggle by glorifying the negative aspects, but there is a reason why they even feel the need to rap about these issues it in the first place; they are products of their environment. Another thing that bothers me is the fact that historically, people have gotten less time for harsher offenses, such as actually KILLING someone (like NFL player Donte Stallworth, who got 24 days in prison). I guess he can't make a good case for himself when his prior offense was cocaine related but whatever. Read the story below (source):

Florida rapper Antavio Johnson has been sentenced to two years in prison for his song "Kill Me a Cop", which he produced as a teenager.

Johnson wrote the song in response to harassment he received from two Florida police officers. In the song, Johnson specifically mentions the two officers - one male and one female - by name, saying they would be shot with a "glock" in the "dome" if they "get my timing wrong."

After the song was completed, Johnson put it up on his MySpace page, and authorities stumbled across it while looking for gang-related activity on MySpace. The song was never played on the radio.

The 20-year-old is already serving time for violating probation related to cocaine use.

Johnson has received some support from the American Civil Liberties Union, saying that while Johnson's lyrics might disturb, "We [shouldn't] punish bad thoughts in America."