Ethical Judgement Can Restrain Someone from Expanding Their Knowledge

Music and society have always been closely related. For years now music has been apart of people’s everyday lives all around the world. Having so many different genres out there, it makes it easy to be appealing to so many different ethnic backgrounds. However, one type of genre in particular has seemed to grab the attention of a younger generation. Rap music has undoubtedly had its utmost impact on African American youth, since many of the performers themselves are African American. An overtly masculine culture dominates rap music and creates gender stereotypes that become abundantly popular to the youthful audience. Three constant themes that are found within the rap culture are encouragement of violence, the misogynistic representation of women, an extreme hatred of homophobia. Each theme plays a detrimental role in the process of defining black masculinity as well as shaping the values, morals, and beliefs that its younger audience adopts after tuning into this “gangster lifestyle”.

A problem that Bennett makes clear is how impressionable the younger audiences are when they are exposed to rap and Hip-Hop. There’s many debate on the topic of children listening to the music, but before we can argue over whether children should be able to listen to the music we must go over the pros and cons to the music genre. The positive side is that rap is an accepted form of self-expression, and educators have shown that it has inspired kids to write. Many kids feel they can relate to the songs, and it persuades them to write their own in an attempt to make sense of the world around them. On the other hand Hip-Hop can have some negative effects as well. A large number of artists such as Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Eminem, and others involve the use of profanity, violence, references to sex and

Rap music has become one of the most distinctive and controversial music genres of the past few decades. A major part of hip hop culture, rap, discusses the experiences and standards of living of people in different situations ranging from racial stereotyping to struggle for survival in poor, violent conditions. Rap music is a vocal protest for the people oppressed by these things. Most people know that rap is not only music to dance and party to, but a significant form of expression. It is a source of information that describes the rage of people facing growing oppression, declining opportunities for advancement, changing moods on the streets, and everyday survival. Its distinct sound, images, and attitude are notorious to people of all

Joan Morgan, a self proclaimed feminist, loves the power that rap and hip hop offers. Joan, also a music writer, is exceptionally troubled by the disrespect of women in not only in the musical lyrics but also the music videos. In the June 1990 edition of Ebony Magazine, Charles Whitaker wrote an editorial addressing the problems American culture brought on by the hip hop industry. Even though, his editorial was published in the 1990’s, it is extremely clear Charles Whitaker saw the negativity brought along with “The Hip Hop and Rap Revolution.” Both authors loved the powerful energy the new hip hop movement brought along with its beginnings, dating back to the mid to late 1970’s. With that being said, the two authors, both had one recurring theme within their respective works, the evolution of hip hop and rap. In other words, both Joan Morgan and Charles Whitaker addressed the issues brought on by the change in the rap and hip hop industry over its short exists. Change is the absolute most constant thing in our world, whether it is positive or negative change that is uncertain, in both of the articles that change in hip hop and rap is demonstrated

Over the past three decades, hip-hop has become an important element in every American’s journey, influencing everything from music, fashion, and language to politics and attitudes toward gender and race. In 2006 Kanye West told MTV, “Everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people.” While bravely condemning homophobia he added that the genre isn’t alone: “Not just hip-hop, but America just discriminates.” Still, till this day, the homophobic discrimination is uprising due to moral or religious

According to Mary Eberstadt, "contemporary adolescent popular music, especially the subgenres of heavy metal and hip-hop/rap, is uniquely degraded – and degrading – by the standards of previous generations." When compering music in the past and today, it is important to compere musical lyric too. Modern music is more aggressive and coarser than old music. Contemporary lyrics describe misogyny, violence, suicide, sexual exploitation, children abuse and other bad things. Mary Eberstadt explains the changes in musical lyric as a result of changes in society. Nowadays, music is not censored. In her essay "Eminem is Right," Eberstadt wrote about how Eminem is right in his songs because he understands the current family crisis that millions children

In the article Rap and Moral Character by Susan Dwyer, the subject of concern is the consequences of listening to rap music and the effect it has on moral character. The author argues that rap music contribute to the corruption of moral character, it is misogynistic, promotes violence and street crime. In this paper I will examine the author’s claims, use of key concepts, and her reasoning. By doing so, I will be able to demonstrate that Dwyer’s thesis is unjust and unsupported. In what follows, I will analyze the claims to show that the author’s arguments are irrelevant and lack sufficient evidence to support her thesis. Secondly, I will examine the author’s reasoning to point out fallacious reasoning and lastly I will evaluate her use of

The music videos that show a disturbing mix of rap and hip hop dance styles and profane language leaves us many people wondering if hip hop is harming our generation. Some things that said through hip hop and rap are a young person’s desire. The hip hop culture is an instant route to take to live the considered “good life” to our young generation. Many of us

For many years, the youth have been known for singing along to their favorite song and taking that song as whole and using it as their motto for life. It may seem that sometimes these kids do not know what is being said in the music but this shows that they do know what the lyrics are saying. According to Franklin B. Krohn and Frances L. Suazo in their article “Contemporary Urban Music: Controversial Messages in Hip-Hop and Rap Lyrics,” many teenagers and minority groups view rappers as their spokesmen because of their ability to speak in street language and bluntly express their frustration (Krohn, 1995). Unfortunately, hip hop lyrics usually tend to talk about drugs, sex and violence leading kids to think that everything they hear is okay and that is how they have to live their life. Yet, there are artists out there who take their lyricist skills to give positive lyrics and messages in their music, but these songs are not often played in the mainstream.

The impact music has on the life of people is very powerful. It can easily revamp the way people act and take control of people’s emotions. Rap music is a very common and popular type of music within the world today. Rap music has existed since the mid 1970s, nowadays it is practically everywhere. It is easily a central focus of many young people’s lives. Rap music was essentially intended to create a voicing of one’s frustrations and disappointment with society, it has recently taken a turn and is creating a negative impact on the youth. It is the root that influences and encourages degrading women, violence, and is filled with sexual content.

To an entire segment of the Black religious community, Gospel (Christian) Rap has found its way to the footsteps of the church. The rapid emergence of this music and its subculture has left the church and clergy alike asking the question-- why? Especially since much of what I would call secular Rap is "off the hook" these days. How so, do you ask? There is a surplus of gratuitous violence, and sexually explicit Rap lyrics, that currently ride the airwaves and is uploaded into countless IPODs, MP3s, and Myspace.com websites. And what should we say about the continual overexposure and repetitious degradation of young Black women, half naked in "booty" shorts; subliminally suggesting to many that to treat all women like "bitches" and "hoe 's" is ok. It also seems to promote a certain image of street machismo or hembra which suggests that adopting a pimp or criminal type lifestyle with a gold jeweled cup filled to the rim with Remy Marty VSOP or "Gin and juice" is the ultimate form of fun, and that true happiness is wrapped inside a Maybach Mercedes Benz with 24 inch rims and a house worthy of a write up on MTV Cribs. Finally, this dream life would be nothing without mentioning the bank account that can only be accessed while visiting the Cayman Islands. Hip-hop is now a culture much like the Beatnik or Hippie of yesteryear and now to include churches. Like those references, many think that this too is a passing fad.

Doug E. Fresh, a popular beat-boxer in rap music today, has been quoted saying, “Hip-hop is supposed to uplift and create, to educate people on a larger level and to make a change.” Although this is the original intention of hip-hop music, public opinion currently holds the opposite view. Since the 1970’s musical artists have changed the face of hip-hop and rap and worldwide, people – mostly teens—have been striving to emulate certain artists and their lyrics, which has created negative stereotypes for hip-hop music and also for those who choose to listen to it. With vulgar lyrics referencing drugs, alcohol, sex, and aggression, it’s no wonder these stereotypes exist. However, is music really the direct cause of how teens act,

Music is subjective which means people will often voice their opinions on it, and undoubtedly one of the most controversial genres that has sparked a barrage of disapproval is rap. It is believed and further encouraged by the media that rap music promotes a bad lifestyle. With corruption being apparent around the world it is easy for the media to put the blame on a genre of music that is filled with explicit lyrics about violence, drugs, and rebellious subject matters. However, further investigation will reveal that because of its accurate depiction of reality, and wide variety of categories, rap music does not encourage an unhealthy lifestyle.

Hip-Hop is an extensive and a broad conglomerate of various artistic forms that ultimately originated in the South Bronx and then quickly spread throughout the rest of New York City among African-Americans and other African-American youth mainly from the Caribbean and from Jamaica during the 1970’s. Over the course of decades and recent years, controversy surrounding Hip-Hop and rap music has been the vanguard of the media. From the over hype of the East and West Coast rivalry to the deaths of Tupac, Biggie, and even Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin, it seems that political and broadcasting groups have been injudicious to place essentially the blame on rap and Hip-Hop music for a superficial trend in youth violence.

Throughout history, music has been used to express the feelings of people or groups whom may have no other outlet to express themselves. The best example of this occurrence would be the lower class of America’s use of rap music. Rap music started out as a fun variation of disco with the purpose to make people dance and enjoy themselves, but it later transformed into one of the best outlets to express the struggles of poverty in the United States. The genre gained popularity when the song “Rapper 's Delight” hit the charts in the early eighties; rap evolved into a plethora of different styles from there, Gangster Rap formed with NWA in the late eighties, and rap really hit it’s zenith in the mid nineties. Modern rap began in the early starts of the twentieth century. Because of the storytelling that rappers do in the music, it gained notice in the inner city where the demographic could relate. Many young teen in the inner city environment built dream to be famous rappers just like their own favorite artists . Rap connects to me by its style, its purpose, and its political incorrectness.