I too work in a prison. This song, along with the other rape/murder glorifyers, will not help our inmates' recidivism rate, nor the victoms of their violence, nor any element of society - ghetto or mainstream. On the other hand, I now see white kids listening to gangsta rap.

Also while gangsta rap is evidently comercially viable, "folk" music is not? (in America). Kids from the most violent backgrounds can pick up this "gangsta" stuff on their walkman, but I can't pick up "Green Fields of France," "We The People," "Christmas In The Trenches," or much of anything else that might be thought-provoking to a middle class tax-payer.

When I sing these kinds of songs at church folks are extremely appreciative and often ask me, in amazment, where I find such great songs. They clearly do have some appeal. I think something is very strange here; a kind of censorship is always being effected at our commercial radio stations with the judgement that "folk" is not comercially viable.

Cheers, BK

ps: I am struck by the high level of this discourse, and agree with many of the opinions about censorshjp, responsibility, freedom of speech, etc.. Clearly, no easy answers... keep it up, folks !