to Rap: Cultures of Crime, Cultures of Resistance Julian Tanner, University of Toronto Mark Asbridge, Dalhousie University Scot Wortley, University of Toronto This research compares representations of rap music with the self-reported criminal behavior and resistant attitudes of the music’s core audience. Our database is a large sample of Toronto high school students (n = 3,393) from which we identify a group of listeners, whose combination of musical likes and dislikes distinguish them as rap univores…

hit single “Coco”. Rap wasn’t always this bad, back when Rap first started with a group by the name of Sugar Hill Gang and their hit single to begin the era “Rapper’s Delight” Rap was about peace, harmony and just hanging out at a party, but r=this precedent split into more violent distorted versions of the genre such as the more 1990s popular genre of “Gangsta Rap” or the more recent rap music that glorifies sexual themes, practices and criminal mischief. This violent rap music has been seen to have…

Rap was originally created as a means of self-expression, while conveying present conditions within marginalized African American communities. Attaining global awareness in America, rap music emerged as one of the most controversial genres America has seen, influencing both white and black culture. Birthed in the mid- 1970’s rap music came to fruition in the Southern Bronx area of New York City. As rap culture began to emerge and grow in New York, rappers began to utilize their voice and voice their…

Music plays a immense part in the lives of those who experience it. It has the power to influence behaviors and moods and even important decisions one makes in life. A device with that amount of power must have very meticulous monitoring. Choosing between more uplifting music and more degrading music can be difficult surprisingly, simply because a lot of adults like rap and music categories like that that contain a lot of degrading messages. Positive, uplifting music is a much better choice for overall…

think that it is only classical music that has a positive effect on society because of its soft tune and melody, but in fact rap music can have that same effect. The reason that some people think rap music leads to violence is because gang members can often be found listening to rap music, and they dress in the urban clothing style of rappers. The reality is that rap music is greatly misunderstood. The media often portrays rap music as negative and focuses on rap music more when it is related to something…

As a whole, “Rap music” is a misrepresentation of black culture. Rap teaches youth that violence, demeaning women and participating in criminal activity are acceptable in today’s society. Despite the rap artists’ that do use self-expression as a means of changing the way listeners view society, rap music contradicts the good that it can create. Rap is proven detrimental toward society, despite the political views most believe it provides. Simply stated, raps contradictive nature makes it impossible…

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…

SOUTHERN RAP Southern hip hop also referred to as southern rap originated from the southern cities like New Orleans, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Memphis, and Virginia Beach, just like the names implies. Rap music has transformed modern music greatly during the decade of 1997 and 2007 (Dyson 61). The decade has seen the southern artists rise to both national and international prominence. The southern cities have churned up modern rap artists like Dwayne Michael (Lil Wayne), Clifford Joseph (T.I) and…

In society today, it is highly noticed that the role of rap music messages and video images of violence causes an increase in negative emotions, thoughts and behaviors which could lead to violence amongst youth. Rap music has been at the center of concern in regards to the potential harmful effect of violent media on social behavior amongst youth. This potential behavior could be seen in the music video titled “Kim” by Eminem. In this music video, the storyline, language and sound encourages hostile…

Who some call the call the godfather of rap, Eazy E, once said, “Who gave it that title, gangsta rap? It 's reality rap. It 's about what 's really going on.” There has been a great injustice done to the form of expression called rap. In essence rap is just lyrics over a basic beat or rhythm. Many members of society today assume that rap is a dangerous and violent influence, however what they seem to be ignorant of is the fact that rap music is actually beneficial. The majority of the world we live…