C. DeLores Tucker Attacks Time Warner Over Lil' Kim

Original: “Gangsta rap debate hits Time Warner” · Associated Press, reprinted in the Las Vegas Sun · no byline · May 15, 1997

The mood was upbeat, the stock at a record high: in May 1997, Time Warner held its annual shareholder meeting at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, intended as a nod to the neighborhood’s cultural history. Then C. DeLores Tucker stood up. The chair of the National Political Congress of Black Women was the best-known opponent of gangsta rap-and she read explicit lyrics by Lil’ Kim aloud to the shareholders.

“Gangsta Porno Rap” Before the Shareholders

Lil’ Kim was signed to a Time Warner label at the time. Tucker called the music “gangsta porno rap” and turned directly to CEO Gerald Levin: “Shame, shame, shame on our family Time Warner.” Levin rejected the accusation, and a shareholder came to his defense.

Hilary Rosen of the industry association RIAA partially agreed with Tucker: the artist was “clearly oversexed.” But Rosen asked who should decide which records get pulled from the shelves. The albums already carried parental advisory warnings anyway. Alongside Lil’ Kim, Tucker named Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Junior M.A.F.I.A., and Busta Rhymes.

Tucker Had Already Forced the Interscope Sale in 1995

The appearance was a continuation. Tucker had already pressured Time Warner back in 1995 until the company sold its 50 percent stake in Interscope in September 1995-the label that distributed Tupac’s music and handled distribution for Death Row. In February 1996, MCA (later Universal) acquired the stake.

Ten Million Dollars: Lawsuit Against Tupac’s Estate

Tupac never forgave Tucker for this. On All Eyez on Me, he rapped directly about her on How Do U Want It; she later applied Wonda Why They Call U Bitch to herself as well. In the summer of 1997, a few months after this appearance, Tucker therefore sued Tupac’s estate for ten million dollars (see Rap critic sues Tupac’s estate).

C. DeLores Tucker died on October 12, 2005, at the age of 78. In retrospect, her campaign is seen as part of a larger clash over rap, morality, and race in the 1990s; the podcast Slow Burn dedicated an episode to her in 2019.