10 White Artists Who Could Have Faced Jail Time If the Courts Treated Other Genres Like Hip-Hop

Aerosmith

Aerosmith

When hip-hop stars rap about violence, they run the risk of having it used against them in court. When a rock legend like Aerosmith does, they run the risk of going home with a Grammy, which they did back in 1991. The song “Janie’s Got a Gun” is actually a disturbing tale about a young woman seeking revenge on her father who sexually abused her as a child. The chart-topping song includes lyrics about putting a “bullet through his brain” and leaving the victim “in the pouring rain”— lyrics that were actually considered less violent than the original version of the song.

 

Lily Allen

Lily Allen

A song called “Smile” can’t possibly be about violence, but Lily Allen’s own music video confirms the track’s dark content. The foul-mouthed track describes the twisted joy the songstress feels when she sees her former lover in pain. “At first when I see you cry, yeah it makes me smile,” she sings. But that’s nothing compared to what the video shows. In the music video, a group of strangers are paid off to go attack the former lover and destroy all his records and other personal property.

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