大象传媒

A province in Indonesia has banned songs from artist including Ed Sheeran and Ariana Grande for being 'too pornographic'. Seventeen pop songs have been banned from being played during daylight hours. The deputy head of the West Java Broadcasting Commission said the lyrics contain 'pornography, pornographic association and obscenity'.

So, are some pop and rap songs too explicit for children and young people? Do you censor the pop songs - or any genre of music - your kids listen to?

spoke to DJs and presenters and for 5 Live's monthly music review.

Nihal: "My friend Romesh Ranganathan said to his wife: 'Look, they're going to swear anyway, at some point. Might as well do it creatively!'"

Arielle: "I kind of agree with Romesh - you're going to learn how to swear.

"My nine-year-old niece is really quite disgusted by Ariana Grande's 'Thank u, next' lyrics, because she famously says the F-bomb. She was like: 'I don't understand why she feels the need to swear in that song.' At nine years old she has got that attitude. She's taken that moral high ground herself, which I really respect in her.

"But Ariana's argument is that she is a grown woman and she can speak how she wants, and she sees it as a way to be more aggressive and not be so 'nice' as a pop star.

"I'm not particularly bothered by it. I'm not offended by that language."

Jamie: "I've got four kids. It's something that comes up in conversation a lot between me and my wife.

"It's interesting that Ed Sheeran was mentioned. At a summer concert at school, some lad got up and sang Shape of You acapella - a great version of it. But then he got to the chorus and sang 'my bed sheets smell of you' and everyone went: 'Oh, that's a bit weird, a 10-year-old kid singing that.'

"But should that be censored? No, absolutely not. Should NWA be censored? Absolutely. There's a chasm between creative, dexterous swearing used to illustrate a point in music and violent, misogynistic swearing that you would find in old NWA songs."

Nihal: "Straight Outta Compton, crazy chap called Ice Cube..."

Jamie: "The Predator is one of my favourite albums, but I wouldn't let a one-year-old listen to it."

Arielle: "I do remember when I was younger, 50 Cent's Candy Shop coming out and I was quite young. Isn't that the joys of growing up, because you learn? You think: 'Oooh, what is he talking about when he's talking about a lollipop?'"

Jamie: "Kids will go and find it anyway, but that doesn't mean that I have to sit there in the car playing them Just Don't Bite It by NWA and having a high five about it! There's a point where parenting has to step in."

Nihal: "What about what they see as well? My daughter feels that Little Mix dress inappropriately. And she actually uses that word - inappropriate."

Arielle: "I find it uncomfortable to watch Little Mix sometimes. They're such amazing vocalists and performers. I found it upsetting when they did that Touch video, and they're in skin-coloured latex, which basically is them just being naked. I think there's just no need for them to do that. Great that they feel empowered to do that and be able to wear what they want, but also I felt uncomfortable as a woman watching that, thinking: 'that video could be a lot better.'"

Jamie: "Who the hell are we to tell Little Mix what they can wear? But I think they are doing it specifically to prove that point."

Jamie: "Midway into her career, Rhianna said: 'I'm no role model, don't put me on this pedestal. I did not ask to be a role model.' I think that's the important point.

"Have Little Mix put themselves forward as role models? Yes, they have. Has Ariana Grande? Yes, she has. So I think they have more of a responsibility than someone like Katy Perry or Lady Gaga. I think Little Mix have quite conscientiously put themselves forward as a spokesperson for young women. That's the difference."

Nihal: "Wearing what you want, and not being judged for being sexual is empowering to them and is a message in its own right. To be in control and empowered with their sexuality."

Arielle: "I thought their outfits at the Brits were tame. I enjoyed their outfits, I didn't feel uncomfortable about that.

"Then you have someone like Grace Jones who's always been quite scantily clad, and been quite hyper-sexualised in her performance - and powerful. I do very much feel torn by this whole subject."

Nihal: "When they go to secondary school, and once you give your kids a Spotify account and a smartphone, [parents] can't censor the music they are listening to."

Jamie: "Kids will always seek out things that they shouldn't do."

Arielle: "I'm really intrigued - what made it to your hip hop playlist for the kids?"

Nihal: "There was loads of stuff like Naughty By Nature and De La Soul, and Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock, Tribe Called Quest, and there was the odd track from Kendrick. It was more difficult to find Lil Wayne that you can play to your kids, that's for certain!

"My son likes a lot of urban music - drill and grime and hip hop, - and we listen to 1Xtra. I'm lucky enough that companies send me radio edits and we can listen to them in the car, so he can hear the music that he wants to. But he's aware of the language that they use, he's like: 'Why does he used the N-word so many times?' I'll say: 'Well, that's his own form of... expression... and it's not OK to use it.'"

大象传媒 Radio 5 Live listeners texted 85058, to explain how they navigate the issue with their kids:

Liz in Loughborough said: "Re: swearing in music, if it's not gratuitous, isn't a problem but violent, misogynistic attitudes are. However I don't censor but I do educate (regularly, unfortunately)."

Another listener said: "Caught my son listening to NWA, so instead of banning him from Spotify I sat down and explained what I could about the group and why they rapped about the issues to such extreme lengths. He is 13 now and understands and listens to explicit rap music with at least some knowledge behind the words within the songs."

Alison in Birmingham said: "My 16-year-old daughter listens to a lot of rap music - actually it might be drill music, I am too out of touch to even know what type of music it is! I find it completely depressing the amount of violent and misogynistic lyrics in the music. In these times of more female empowerment and equality etc it is so sad that this type of attitude towards women is still being promoted. It is quite scary to think that my daughter might think it is OK or even cool to have a man think of you that way or treat you that way. I have not banned but try and talk about the lyrics that are being sung."

"Hello, just wanted to express my opinion. I am 15 and I personally believe that a lot of the music demonstrates a negative opinion on my generation and causes many people to look at me in a negative way whilst I'm just walking to the shops or something. I also believe the media is impacting this greatly."

Another listener added: "I'm far less worried about swearing (even Rage and NWA) than hyper-sexual lyrics. Even the Ed Sheeran bed sheets line is not OK for primary school kids."

Ed in London said: "Children don't need to learn swearing from singers whilst under 12, and many parents don't want potty mouth children, and this can be controlled by conscientious parents. But it's harder when artists target the under 10s for their fan base and then swear. Children will learn to swear but should they be confronted by it in pop music? No, there should be an appropriate place for them to enjoy that kind of music without having to learn F-words etc. "

The Monthly Music Review is on 大象传媒 Radio 5 Live 15:00 - 16:00 on the last Thursday of every month.

Listen to Nihal Mondays to Thursdays 13:00 - 16:00.