selling rap - by any means necessary

Forget bitches and ho's, these days sincerity and sensitivity sell. Enter the new man of rap. By Katie Sampson

"With your big willy talk you're playing yourself." Jeru the Damager's message to the "braggadocios" gangsta rappers is clear: unrealistic macho lyrics fool no one, except perhaps their owners.

In the Eighties, fans liked their rap hard and political with plenty of attitude and a bit of groin-grabbing thrown in. When LL Cool J, well known for boasts of his sexual prowess, tried to croon his ballad "I need love" at the Hammersmith Odeon he was booed off stage. Commercial rap fans were enjoying the shock factor of the lyrics and the defiant "By Any Means Necessary" philosophy; sentimentality was not sexy.

But the mood has changed and LL Cool J is currently to be found joining Eighties British Soul/Funk band Shalamar on Babyface's slushy crossover hit "The Lover in You", an unthinkable alliance when gangsta rap was at its prime. Rappers are involved in the caring, sharing industry without denting their street credibility one jot, in fact it's expected of them. "By Any Means Necessary" has become "Adapt or Die".

As Matt White, leading R'n'B and Hip Hop DJ explains, "People get tired of the blatantly sexual stuff. Rappers know that girls like to sing along to records, so rappers know that they've got to embrace R&B to make more of a crossover." Vincent Jackson of Touch magazine also stresses the marketing strategy behind the producers who are "Cosy with the radio playlists", citing Shaun "Puffy" Combs who runs the New York label, Bad Boy, as an example. "The fact that Puffy can put `guns and drugs' rappers like Notorious B.I.G on the stage with Total, a `soul with balls band' and finish the line up with the pure songstress Faith Evans tells you something; people are beginning to realise that full-time rap artists can't be gangstas and vice versa".

Matt White cites Blackstreet as an example of a crossover band which focuses on the caring man. Reflecting on their recent "No Diggity", band member Teddy Ralley recently observed that "The song was so the kids could have something positive to walk around and sing rather than bitches and ho's". Sincerity and Sensitivity sell, as Matt White points out: "Teddy is now seen as Mr Serious Family Man. People have forgotten the blatancy of Blackstreet's earlier tracks like `Booti Calls'."

Blackstreet's decision to stress their religious rather than sexual inclinations on their latest album, which ends with the song "God is Real", is a shrewd one. The hot tip for 1997 is Gospel, which is an influence on increasing numbers of Rap and R&B acts, and which can even be found in some Jungle tracks. The fact that Whyclef of the Fugees is a preacher's son does not go ignored when the Fugees go gospel during live performances and Run of Run DMC has now become Reverend Run.

The British bands Nu Colours, who recently won the Black Music Award, are not only successful but squeaky clean. Band member Lawrence Johnson was co-founder of London Community Gospel Choir and has been credited with bringing British Gospel singers into the mainstream. "We are a family band" he says.

Long-time rapper Mark Main is struggling against this new niceness. "It seems like the A&R departments are looking for politically correct lyrics for the masses. You can't just try to have fun because people will always be reading stuff into it. But rap music is all about fire, passion and controversy. Mark points to D'Angelo's "Shxt Damn Motherfxcker" as an example of an honest love song - precisely because it is full of swearing and sex. He also sees the song's references to cunnilingus as an example of positive lyrics: "You've got to be real in your lyrics."

Twiceborn from the band Kaliff - a band that Waterman describes as having a strong moral line - also hints at rebellion: "These days even `caring' has to be a fashion thing. Sure we've done records about our mums, but if you are doing a `woman- friendly' record it's got to be realistic. If you are being PC there's plenty you're forbidden from talking about. The fact is a lot of men use PC talk when they want to get a woman into bed," he sneers. Finally, he admits: "I don't like liberals, in fact I f---ing hate them."