“Put molly all in her champagne/She ain’t even know it/Took her home and I enjoyed that/She ain’t even know it.”

Miami rapper Rick Ross is known for his unzipped sweat suits, his questionable résumé and his signature, guttural grunts. But in February, listeners added the role of date rapist to Ross’ list of notables. His feature on Atlanta-based rapper Rocko’s song “U.O.E.N.O.,” which describes him slipping a recreational drug in an unassuming woman’s alcoholic drink, spurred 72,000 people to protest his Reebok endorsement.

Molly, or ecstasy, is the pure form of MDMA, a drug known to exaggerate all five senses. Cited by the FBI as a club drug usually mixed with other substances and associated with date rape drugs, MDMA is hallucinogenic and the long-term effects include confusion, depression and loss of memory.

While 2 Chainz “[has] your girl on molly,” and Gucci Mane “[has] your little sister on the molly,” countless rappers are referencing the drug…but it’s been popular in music since as early as the 1980s with even Madonna admitting to “popping a tab of ecstasy and dancing the night away” on the night she got discovered in her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony speech.

The attention these lyrics and references are getting highlights a bigger issue at hand: the continuation and preservation of rape culture in the media, specifically hip hop.

“We live in a society that by the time African American and Latina women are 18, 44% have been sexually abused,” said hip hop activist Rosa Clemente in a YouTube response to molly in music. “We now need men to stand up and say no to violence against women. That’s how we begin to influence the young people that will be listening to this as almost ahow-to guide on how to rape women.”

Aside from this particular instance in hip hop history, listeners are left to ask the real effect that media has and if lyrics should be somehow regulated. Regardless of the outcome of the Rick Ross situation, there is a bigger overall matter to confront.

“Flooding entertainment with such powerful, graphic images serves to make people non-discriminate towards the use of sexual violence towards each other,” said Howard psychology professor Dr. Jeff Menzise. “Females expect and accept it while males believe it’s the right thing to do.”

Some agree that the media does have an effect on what young people do. If this is the state of the community, what is seen in media has the possibility of becoming reality if it is not already.

“Music not only reflects but influences our culture,” said sophomore nursing major Taylor Davis. “Lyrics should bother us because it shows the direction in which we’re headed. I’m disturbed, not offended.”

Howard students seem to hold similar viewpoints while being advocates of constitutional rights.

“If you don’t like it, protest it. But understand that there’s freedom of speech. It’s freedom of expression, and once you start there where does it stop?” said junior international relations major Walter Smith.

While it’s apparent that everyone has an opinion on the matter, it is also clear that lyrics can highlight serious divisions within a community. There are certain rights to uphold constitutionally, but some say it is not just a constitutional issue, but a moral issue as well.

“Rape is cruel, inhumane, and a violation of women’s rights. Furthermore, the media is power. I pray and advocate for change and I hope everyone else will do the same,” said mass communications professor Christal Johnson.

Sydnee Monday writes for The Hilltop, the Howard University student newspaper, which originally published this article. Articles in the Voices section are the opinions of the individual writers and do not represent the views of Black College Wire.