After Oprah Winfrey's Hip Hop Town Meeting, poet and activist Saul Williams has issued an open letter to Oprah defending rap's motives and methods. (He doesn't, however, let it off the hook. Sample quote: "The gangsters that rule hip hop are the same gangsters that rule our nation. 50 Cent and George Bush have the same birthday.") Def Jam founder and Hip Hop Summit Action Network member Russell Simmons, who appeared on the Oprah episode, has since issued a statement calling for voluntary self-censorship within the hip-hop industry.
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