While other rappers often glorify pornography and the degradation of women in their music, one rapper is raising a warning voice. In his new song “The Bitten Apple,” a track from his recently released LP All the Beauty in This Whole Life, rapper Brother Ali openly addresses the dark side of pornography addiction that many choose to overlook.
In the first verse, Brother Ali discusses some the negative effects of pornography on an individual level, including shame, addiction, and desensitization to extreme forms of pornography.
Self-hate feasting on our deepest darkest secrets
Warning signs that read help needed, too ashamed to seek it
Seems so easily deleted when you’re browsing
But can’t erase the history of what your eyes allowed in
The intimately profound ecstasy that gives life’s
Stripped of all its meaning ’til it eats you from the inside
The big lie, you just do this to get you through the slim times
One click at a time ’til you prefer the counterfeit kind
Seen so many scenes that it would seem you’re desensitized
Just to get your fix, you begin dipping into the sick side
Seeking to feed a demon that you no longer recognize
His candid lyrics reveal his own past struggle with pornography addiction, which he discussed in a recent interview with hip-hop news site Ambrosia for Heads.
“I never considered myself like an addict or it was controlling my life or anything,” he said. “But when I decided I wanted to take the spiritual path seriously, something that one of my teachers said to me is, like, ‘this is not conducive to the spiritual path.’ . . . So you may not feel like an addict but once you say to yourself, ‘Okay, I would like for this to never be part of my life again,’ then you start realizing just how deep it goes, and how many changes have had to happen internally for that [pornography] to become part of our lives.”
In the second verse of the song, Brother Ali calls out pornography users who think there is no external harm in pornography consumption. “Don’t get it twisted,” he warns. “There’s no innocence existing in its biggest business / You create specific demand whenever you click it / Whatever it is you’re into someone’s got to fill it / Have their lowest moments frozen to be shown infinite.”
He goes on to rap about how pornography also hurts innocent children and familial relationships.
Brother Ali is not alone in using his fame as a platform to warn others about the harmful effects of pornography. In February of 2016, actor Terry Crews posted a series of candid videos in which he revealed his former struggles with pornography and how it nearly destroyed his marriage. Later that year, actress and former Playboy model Pamela Anderson spoke out against the porn industry, calling pornography a “public hazard.” In April of this year, actor and comedian Chris Rock admitted during his recent comedy tour that his pornography addiction was a major factor in his divorce.
These are not the only celebrities who have spoken out against pornography. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rashida Jones, Russell Brand, and Hugh Grant, among others, have all expressed opposition to it.
Each additional voice adds power to the fight against pornography and sexual exploitation. To learn how to add your voice to the movement, visit EndSexualExploitation.org.
All the Beauty in This Whole Life is available on iTunes.
