Should Chris Brown Be Taken Off The Radio?

By Monday, most of us had learned about the terrible story involving music stars, Chris Brown and Rihanna. Chris Brown allegedly was involved in a physical altercation with his girlfriend, Rihanna. While there is much speculation about what really happened, many radio stations around the country are asking its listeners whether they should pull the music of Chris Brown off the air because of the domestic violence allegations.

Without question, the allegations against Chris Brown are serious. His reputation is forever damaged, even if he wins in court or if the charges against him are eventually dropped. The squeaky clean image of Chris Brown cannot be fully repaired because of these allegations.

We should pray that Rihanna can heal from this traumatic experience. Honestly, we do not know what happened. As a result, I am not going to pass judgment on Chris Brown. But, domestic violence of any kind is wrong. Men should not hit women, and women should not hit men. Hopefully, Rihanna can take a break from her music and focus on her mental health.

My hometown station of 95.6 Kiss FM in Cleveland has already stopped playing Chris Brown’s music. I can understand the radio station’s decision. The station does not want to lose some of its sponsors and does not want to give the appearance that it supports domestic violence. Many listeners may have also voiced their concern about Chris Brown’s airtime on the radio station. A radio station is a business; it does not want to lose support from its loyal listeners and money from its advertisers. On the other hand, I understand why many radio stations continue to play Chris Brown’s songs. Brown’s music employs other people; therefore, he is not only person benefiting from his album sales or other items. What about the songs that feature Chris Brown with other artists, such as Lil Wayne, Keri Hilson, T-Pain, and Ludacris. Do these artists deserve to lose money because of the alleged actions of Chris Brown?

In most cases, I believe the free market knows how to handle itself. When an artist allegedly misbehaves, people usually tune that person off. They stop buying that person’s records, books, or t-shirts. For instance, Michael Jackson’s popularity plummeted in America are several allegations of sexual abuse against children. This is America; people are not stupid. If people think you are a criminal, then you will lose business, especially if the alleged victim is a woman or child.

Last week, the Russ Parr Morning Show, a nationally syndicated radio show, devoted the week to Teen Violence. Now, it is time that BET and TV One devote more programming to domestic violence. People need to know who to call and where to go if they are victims of domestic abuse. Regardless of what happened, in this particular case, we need to be in prayer for Rihanna, Chris Brown and anyone else who has been involved in domestic abuse.