Vulgar rappers headline
‘family event’

By Jon Dougherty

Hip-hop megastars OutKast will be the featured act in an annual music festival held in Columbia, S.C., that organizers are calling a “signature family event,” even though the group’s lyrics in many of its songs are viewed by some as too lewd and vulgar for children. Editor’s note: Some of the group’s lyrics can be read here. The reader is strongly warned. The lyrics are obscene and likely offensive to many. Parental discretion is advised.

The Three Rivers Festival, which runs April 5-7, also features a number of other acts considered less controversial.

But OutKast, a two-man group from Atlanta featuring Antwan “Big Boi” Patton and Andre “Dre” Benjamin, is being heralded by local organizers as the act that may save the financially troubled festival. The group has sold over 15 million CDs worldwide, and its latest album, “Stankonia,” was up for five Grammy Awards this year.

According to local officials, last year the event lost $100,000, forcing the city of Columbia to contribute $430,000 to help cover costs. This year, city officials have decided to limit their tax-funded contributions to just $250,000, though one resident told WorldNetDaily the city did not sponsor any public forum to discuss the decision to spend money on the festival.

The Columbia City Council and festival officials have said if the event loses money again this year, it will be canceled next year.

OutKast is a major departure from previous headliners. Last year, blues master Ray Charles was the major act; in 2000, it was soft rock act Widespread Panic.

When OutKast visited Benedict College in December, fans as young as 10 lined up for hours for an autograph, one local report said.

Tracie Thomas, media coordinator for the event, told WorldNetDaily that initially some local residents voiced concerns about OutKast, but that generally speaking the group’s appearance has been well-received.

“At the very beginning we had some people voicing some concerns,” she said. “But this is the music that’s in right now, and as far as rap groups go, OutKast is very tame. They don’t talk about killing people or raping women. They may say cuss words, but, I think, you know, it’s the older generation and this is the younger generation’s music.

“I think it’s sort of the same concerns that the baby boomers’ parents had with The Doors or anything like that,” she said. “When people hear anything that frightens them, they immediately think the worst of it instead of giving it a chance, instead of giving it a chance and really trying to understand how their children and others feel about it.”

When Thomas was read some lyrics about “duct-taping your daughter” and others with a sexual connotation, she said, “OutKast is one of my favorite groups, so I’d be pretty biased.”

The band “promotes an upbeat atmosphere, and everybody seems like they’re getting along,” she said. When asked if parents were concerned about their children hearing such lyrics, she said: “My parents weren’t worried about me hearing those kinds of lyrics, and I had very good parents.”

She said none of the event’s sponsors have complained about OutKast’s lyrics. “All of our sponsors are thrilled” to have the band performing, she said.

Some of the event’s sponsors include the U.S. Army, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of South Carolina and WFMV, a local gospel music radio station.

A receptionist at WFMV said the station was not necessarily sponsoring OutKast but “a gospel-music portion” of the festival.

City officials did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment.

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Jon Dougherty

Jon E. Dougherty is a Missouri-based political science major, author, writer and columnist. Follow him on Twitter. Read more of Jon Dougherty's articles here.