Is All Rap Music Promoting And Glorifying Crime And Degrading

If they see rappers calling females out of their name with big chains and expensive cars throwing all their money in videos, then they look up to the guys they see in those videos and are going to buy in to what their seeing and hearing on the radio, on TV, on the internet, on the streets and in school regardless if it’s true just like advertisement. Even though many of the rappers that rap about misogyny sound like they live what their saying, many don’t actually believe what they’re saying they’ll still say it anyway just to get a paycheck. Yet what a lot of the public fell to realize is that rap is about business and making money and they’ll do whatever it takes to increase their profit. Yes, a lot of what these big time record labels put out is wrong on many levels, but when their banks accounts have a lot of zero’s, they can care less about how their music is affecting young people. This situation is very multi-sided to say the least which is why I feel this article deserves to receive the Most Controversial Issue

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”.

The misogynistic treatment of women in commercialized rap has become a widespread phenomenon which as a result has become commonly accepted by majority of the individuals in society. Rappers, in general, nowadays use women in their videos in a way which is both derogatory and exploiting. Black men in today’s society, especially in the entertainment industry, do not see women as their equals; rather they objectify them as being nothing more than sex objects. People in the Hip Hop industry do not believe that sexism and misogyny is as big of a deal as racism, thus they push this issue to the side by simply ignoring it and learning to accept it. This misogynistic portrayal of women is ruining the image if Hip Hop as both an industry and a form of expressive art. However, instead of taking action against this atrocity, many women simply believe that the images of women and their portrayal in rap videos does not represent nor refer to them as an individual and the type of woman they truly are. By being silent these women are allowing themselves to be victimized by the men of not only the Hip Hop industry but also general society. By not having a say in this matter of the false classification and portrayal of women, they are voluntarily allowing men to do whatever they please to do so, in any given time and with any approach they feel is necessary. They do not

McLune also believes,“many hip-hop rappers are sexist and materialistic singers”(222), and not many rappers sing about equality and respect between the sexes. Even female rapper’s follow in the male rappers footsteps of disrespecting black women. Female rappers follow this path to keep from being “targeted, slandered, and ignored”(223). Female rappers who take a stance against the norm risk being called “bitch, a ho-or worse, a dyke.” McLune states that she wants the sexism to stop and until it does hip-hop will fail. According to McLune, Kevin Powell excuses sexism because of poverty. Experience has shown us that any man, rich or poor, can be sexist regarding women. By allowing the behavior to continue black women will always be the victim.

In Joan Morgan’s article “Fly-Girls, Bitches and Hoes: Notes of a Hip Hop Feminist”, she shows the way rap music has changed through it popularity. The widespread appreciation of rap had negative impacts upon the black community. Morgan talks about this through her Feminist point of view. She focuses the topic on what rap music says about the African American culture in Hip Hop. Rap music and Hip Hop were invented through the pain of African Americans. Hip Hop and the Rap industry use sexism and machoism to express the long years of oppressive pain they went through by the hands of the white people. Especially for the black brothers who continue that oppression by using provocative words that degrade the black sisters. Morgan states that blame isn’t only on the brothers

The above article discusses a study conducted that tested whether exposure to rap music increases sexism within males. The study did not give any direct concrete evidence that rap music causes misogyny. Yet it brought up some useful insights that were supported by the study. Initially, they discovered that listening to non-sexist songs still led to some type of sexist behavior. This finding is relevant as it shows that it might not solely be the lyrics that are responsible for sexism within music. People can be instinctively associating rap music with being misogynistic. Another finding was that misogynistic lyrics prime young males to behave sexually aggressive temporarily. This reading is important for this topic as it disregards the popular belief that rap music causes sexism, but it also takes in account that rap music can prime young males to be slightly more aggressive. While this study cannot be used to promote any type of censorship in media, it can still encourage the music industry to reevaluate the material they are launching to public, especially the young generation.

The author has committed a few fallacious arguments in the article. One of the fallacies that stood out to me was the fallacy of presumption. It was stated as; people that choose to listen to and watch such material on a regular basis are saying something about their own moral character, about what they value, about who they are. Seeking out such material is like seeking out and choosing to watch portrayals of atrocities, such as rapes and violence. This argument is invalid and unsound. The author is in the wrong for making such statement. Rap music is just like country and rock music. People enjoy listening to different types of music for various reasons, one of which can be for entertainment purposes. Listening to and watching rap music does not determine a person’s moral character and who they are as a person.

One of the biggest ways hip hop is demeaning towards women is the objectivity of women. Women in the hip hop industry and basically seen as disposable sex toys. Rose says that hip hop divides women into groups, one that is worth respect and protection and the other that just isn’t. “In this hip hop does not break from the fundamental logic of mainstream masculinity so much as convey it with excess, bravado, and extra insult” (Rose 119). Many ask the question why many other topics have standards such as “rap[ping] against police…[or] against gay…” (Rose 120) but it’s all fair game against women. However it is not only the men in the hip hop game that are objectifying women. Rappers like Lil’ Kim, Trina, and Foxy Brown use the same “sex sells” method to grow on the hip hop ladder, but they feel like they have to. That’s the only way to be noticed and get attention (Rose 123). “Kim herself admitted that she uses her identity as Lil’ Kim to get money, ‘a character I use to sell my records’” (Rose 124). If even girls in hip hop feel the need to have to go by this method, what are the chances that younger females will do any differently?

Thesis:Rap music does not promote violent actions by teens because rap music is a very diverse genre, it is mainly for entertainment purposes only, and part of the music is involved in anti-violence efforts.

Rap music is filled with imagery that degrades women. Women are continually referred to inappropriately in many songs, while men refer to themselves and other as pimps or players. Women are not only referred to by derogatory names, they are frequently lowered to sex objects for entertainment. The common idea of a woman in a rap video is one who is half naked while dancing flirtatiously and seductively behind, or in front of the rapper. Many female rappers make public appearances dressed inappropriately, their clothing is always revealing and skin tight, they have unfortunately accepted and entertained this idea. Young girls see these women as role models. As female rappers conform and accept their roles as sex objects they are making it socially acceptable and the young girls who see them as role models and look up to them think

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.

The article I am researching and analyzing is “Conflicting Paradigms on Gender and Sexuality in Rap Music: A Systematic Review” written by Denise Herd. This article was published in the academic journal “Sexuality and Culture”, on July 1st, 2000. This article is centered around rap music with its social and cultural significance for youth audiences, all around the world and how it plays a major role in shaping young adults beliefs, intentions, and attitudes that relate to sexuality. But, there are very few studies that are worried on behalf of health issues. They have researched the actual content in lyrics in relation to gender and sex. This paper compares literature in relation to gender and sexuality involved with rap music from many different perspectives, a huge base is the feminism theory, along with culture studies and relations. This review shows that conflicting paradigms, come together in this literature and that very few studies are both strong and rich, these paradigms including misogyny or sexual agency . Research in the future should approach this hardship as well as expand on changes over time in how gender relationships and sexual relationships have been chooses in this specific music category.

Misogyny and degradation of women is present in almost every genre of music, yet the one genre that completely revolves around demeaning women is rap. Over the years rap and rap music videos have continually become more sexual and degrading towards women. Rap has been criticized numerous times for this reason, and that is because rap is one of the most popular genres of music for the younger generations. It is more than a genre of music, it is a complete industry filled with clothing and other merchandise. The reason this constant demeaning of women exists is because rap as a genre that rewards the objectification of women. The excuses used to justify the misogyny in rap are incomplete and lack accurate support. The most effective way

In addition to the actualization of women, rap also promotes extreme violence and abuse towards women. Besides the ?mild? abuse the vast majority of rappers perpetually depict, some rappers display a loathing so deep it can only be classified as misogyny. In the song ??97 Bonnie and Clyde,? by Eminem, he says ?There goes mama, splashing in the water. No more fighting with dad, no more restraining order. Blow her kisses bye-bye, tell mommy you love her? (Bonnie). In a sinister fashion, the song goes on to describe how he murdered and disposed of his ex-wife with the assistance of his three-year-old daughter. Here the violence towards women crosses generations and involves the traumatic use and abuse of a three-year old girl. It promotes that violence, even toward our most vulnerable, is acceptable if they are female. Undeniably, the hip-hop culture?s perverse attitude towards the treatment of women has gradually been accepted by society. It seems society has been desensitized to the violence of rap by

     Most rap songs that contain violence reflects incidents that occur in today’s society such as the Rodney King incident. “Rap music brings together a tangle of some of the most complex social, cultural, and political issues in contemporary American society.” Rap and hip-hop artists write songs that promote the killing of enemies as well as targeting institutions such as the church, government, and justice system (Ro 145) Most artists relive their own painful experiences over and over again though their music, delaying their own society’s process of recovery . for example, in 1989