In response to Reverend Al Sharpton's recent rallies against hip-hop's explicit lyrical content, SOHH caught up with rappers Talib Kweli and David Banner for their views on the political activist.

As previously reported by SOHH, Sharpton organized protests across the nation earlier this week, calling for the end of the music industry's government funding, unless rap artists clean up its act. The reverend is specifically demanding the removal of the words n***er, b***h and h*e from rap recordings.

Now, members of the hip-hop community are speaking in their own defense against Sharpton's crusade.

"First, I'm an artist and I'm gonna say what I want to say," Talib Kweli told SOHH. "Nobody's gonna tell me what I can or can't say.

"[While] I do think that people like Al Sharpton and Oprah and Russell Simmons are our vanguards and our elders and that we should respect them," the Brooklyn emcee continued. "They have been here representing for us since before even hip-hop was here. What they say is important and it's relevant but I think we need our own leadership so that we can respectfully disagree and say 'I hear you uncle Russell, I hear you Al Sharpton' and be respectful about it. But we can't cow tow to them either."

A less diplomatic and more vocal David Banner also weighed in on the subject, saying that he is not and has never been a fan of Sharpton and that he is doing more to hurt the situation than to help.

"The next time you see Al Sharpton, tell him I said @#*$ him and he can suck my dick," an animated David Banner exclaimed. "I might change the name of my album from The Greatest Story Never Told to @#*$ Al Sharpton. I hate Al Sharpton. This is the kind of @#!* that I'm talking about. They're killing kids in New Jersey and all across the country and all a @#*$% got to talk about is rap lyrics? @#*$ that about they're our elders and we gotta respect them. I'm tired of this. They're like the parents, but the parents are crucifying the kids.

"They tried to crucify Nelly and Akon...we need to come together because they're only doing this because we're not saying anything," Banner added. "He's [Sharpton] a permed-out pimp. Him and Jesse Jackson are out here charging people to do rallies with them. They're more worried about their investors than our kids. Tell him David Banner said it."

"@#*$%s talk a good game about we need to clean up the hood and the lyrics and all that. But I'm out here doing it. Who can say that?"