Hip-Hop Video Gives Voice to Pro-Life Movement

Hip-hop music usually gets a bad rap for its misogynistic overtones and violence, but amid the criticism comes a refreshingly courageous song with a message to which parents can proudly expose their children, particularly teens.

"Can I Live?" which debuted recently on Black Entertainment Television's "106th & Park" video music show, stars former Nickelodeon television star, turned rapper and movie star Nick Cannon, as the yet-to-be son of a teenage mother.

The video, set in the 1970s, takes place at an abortion clinic where a teenage mother, played by actress Tatiana Ali, formerly of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," arrives to get an abortion. Cannon, who plays a ghost-version of himself, tries to persuade his mother to choose life and reconsider her decision to terminate her pregnancy.

The mother sits in the waiting room where others are facing the same dilemma. As she fills out medical forms, Cannon's character talks about the struggles she would face as a teenage mother.

Ali's character is then seen in a hospital gown, lying on a table, ready for the abortion procedure. With doctors standing by, Cannon again appears and sees himself in the form of a baby in the ultrasound on a screen behind him.

He implores her to think about the consequences of her actions and what he could become one day if she would only let him live. As if she could hear him, Ali gets up from the examination table and leaves the room. Cannon thanks her.

Ali runs outside to the street and sees a crowd of children of all sizes and ages wearing white t-shirts, emblazoned with three words: "Can I live?" Those words are also heard in the song's chorus, which is sung by various children.

Months later, we see the young mother in a different hospital room surrounded by family and friends while holding her baby.

In the entertainment industry, sex is often viewed as the most effective tool to sell a product. As a mom, however, I would like to think that an uplifting message like that found in the "Can I Live?" video is much more powerful.

While watching this video, I was moved to tears thinking about the mothers who thought they had no other choice but to abort their child, but I was even more affected by the voices of the children, begging to be born.

Hopefully, more mothers who are conflicted over matters of life and death will be able to hear their child's voice as clearly.


You can watch it at:

http://www.jalive.com.jm/showvid.asp?strmArtist=Nick%20Cannon&ftr=&strmTitle=Can%20I%20live.