Rap Music Leads to Crime &Should Be Labeled a Deviant Behavior

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 understanding of the idea of the "Dirty South" and southern rap in general has found the articulation in stereotypes of the south: the emergence of the idea represented a shift in already established geographical imaginary of hip hop music which is bombarded with authenticity and marketability claims (59). Before the idea, southern cities were not completely excluded from rap, but they were obliged to stick to certain styles and conceptual limits so as to reach a wider music authenticity for their own economic prosperity (63).

The impact of rap music in today’s society is extremely substantial. Many Americans listen to rap music, even though different rap artist discuss various issues in their songs, it may influences their fans to do the same. A large amount of rap music contains explicit lyrics that describe illegal activities, aggression, and sexual content. Researchers from Iowa State University and the Texas Department of Human Services found that aggressive music lyrics increase aggressive thought and feelings, might perpetuate aggressive behavior and have long term effects (American Psychological Association). Therefore, when Americans listen to rap music with that type of perspective it promotes misogyny, illegal activities and sexual content.

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

Within History, Rap has been considered the “CNN for black people”; what started as a way to express struggles in the ghettos of New York has transformed into one of the most popular genres of music in America. The popularity of rap has allowed many to have their voices heard, created new fashion trends, and even developed popular modern slang used by people throughout the world. The commercialization of rap has resulted in a significant following of the culture in America but also a large number of people who oppose the music. The culture of rap music has a substantial impact on popular culture in America, and by using an open mind and looking past the violence and language, people can better understand the meaning behind rap and the perception that follows it in America today.

     The Parents Music Resource Center and other censorship groups became a thorn in the side of free speech when many parents (like Tipper Gore) were outraged and disgusted by this new music known as “rap.” Censorship organizations demand that these new performers like Ice-T and NWA become banned from the radio and their music be labeled as indecent and explicit in order to protect America’s Youth from listening to this so-called “filth.” Rap has since been the biggest target for censorship, with groups going as far as saying that, “there has been a marked increase in explicit violence and misogyny in popular music, and it stands to reason that exposure to such hate filled lyrics has had a effect on kids’ attitudes, assumptions, decisions, and behavior” (Senate subcommittee…). This is a crazy assumption with no facts to back it up. According to Vincent Shiraldi, the executive director of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, “There has been a 30

Whether you love it or hate it Rap music has come to be one of the most popular, yet arguable, music genres of the past decades. Today’s rap music has changed enormously since the 1970’s. Rap music was about having fun, being able to express what youth were feeling and a way to keep youth out of trouble. Rap songs usually use explicit and demeaning lyrics, which has huge influence on the youth of today. While rappers say that they’re plainly rapping about reality. They often use violence, the use of drugs and Guns as the main tool to tell the story of their lives and show how hard it is growing up in their neighbourhood. This surely does not set any good examples for the young men and women, listening to this trash and singing along with the

Growing up Rap music was always played throughout the house. Although, my parents played this sort of music my upbringing was always redirected. I was always taught that just because DMX raps, " I got blood on my hands and there's no remorse" in his song "Bring Ya Whole Crew" doesn't in fact mean that you should have no remorse when you do wrong to others. Also, as I listen to songs like "The Race by Tay-K," who states "Rob a n-word shoes, rob a n-word lace" these lyrics don’t encourage me to go out and rob people of their hard-earned materials. If parents don't control what their children listen or even redirect the statements stated in the lyrics. "Monitor your children's music the same way you supervise their use of television, videos, and the Internet. Developmental psychologists and other researchers who study the effect of media on children have found that parents who are involved in all their children's media choices

Rap music over the years has embraced black talent and lead many people who lived troubled lives into a life of fame and glory. The problem is as rap music has evolved, the lyrical content has been highly focused around depicting negative images of the urban black community. It has turned from being positive to now just describing the life of drugs and riches. Songs range from depicting women as prostitutes, selling drugs such as cocaine and heroine, using drugs to get by in life, and spending excessive amounts of money on expensive cars and jewelry. Washington Informer writer, Rudy Gourdine, brings up a good point when she states, “Can we overlook the targeting of young Black women with mean spirited and derogatory words and images that often prevent them from forming successful relationships(Gourdine) ?” She speaks of how in urban areas it is often overlooked or ignored how degrading the lyrics are and what they are doing. There are many good points as to what rap music could be causing in urban areas but there is no solid proof that rap music causes all to think or act on the music.

Many people tried to solve the problem through censorship, but did it work? The answer is no, there is no complete solution to handle this problem because of the First Amendment’s Freedom of Speech, making it impossible to restrict the message and expression hip hop conveys. The duality of morals is applied in the hip hop controversy. It’s not moral to promote violence, deal drugs, and degrade women, however, its not moral to take away an individual’s right to express themselves through music. Furthermore, the issues that hip hop presents, like violence and sex, can be seen in movies, video games, books, and television. There is a difference between seeing an officer getting killed in a movie and hearing it on a CD, or hearing about sex in a rap song, but witness the act in a movie theater. Issues can arise from all these situations, yet the First Amendment protects the parties involved. However, there is a solution to protect a young person from the negative

With the recent election being highly controversial and contested the United States finds itself with an incredibly volatile and inclement political climate. While the United States continues to face social and political issues rap music and its artist have been a source to document the oppression that is still occurring within the country. Documenting racism and oppression by using politically charged lyrics is a method the rap community is particularly familiar. As time went on rap artists began to become more politically informed and began to shine through their lyrics to become sources to start a national dialogue. Rap artists like Tupac Shakur, Chuck D, Chance the Rapper, and Kendrick Lamar have been fundamental pieces of the

In the article Bars and Blood author TJ Henry claims that multiple sources say “violent environments inspire lyrical content which provides a way to cope.” Rob Johnson, co founder of the Oakland based organization Beats, Rhymes, and Life, which is one of the first hip-hop therapy programs, believed in order to provide therapy to the struggling black community, they needed to build a healing and educational service, which came in the form of hip-hop. This evidence suggests that hip-hop and rap is considered, even by programs, to be a therapeutic refuge for struggling teens. The article also states that “Hip-hop, while being used as an outlet for expression and catharsis, is also being used as a tool for social change.” Martha Diaz, the director of hip-hop education center says that her program is already doing work in classrooms, prison camps, and summer camps, attempting to create a leadership to replace the baby boomers. This proposes that hip-hop is being used all over to change mindsets of teens, and to support social change. In the article Is it as Bad as Some People Think, rap is stereotyped to be a bad influence on young and to be offensive, but the author claims that “rap music is greatly misunderstood.” The article says “media stories identify rap music as a catalyst in problems such as teen pregnancy-” “but the truth of the matter is that there is rap music that is positive and can serve the purpose of improving social consciousness.” This evidence strongly suggests that despite the fact rap is looked down on by many, it has a positive effect on people, and is generally written for a good purpose. Also in the article Controversial Rapper Lyrics Prompt Experts to Say Not All Rap is Offensive, Reverend Julian DeShaziar (also a hip-hop artist) claims “there are many artists who don’t give in to music industry's demands and remain true to themselves and their music. But that choice

Rap music has been around for around 40 years but became nationally popular in the 1990’s. As the music became more popular within the public, the lyrics of these songs became notorious for being vulgar, derogatory, and a bad influence on the listeners. The new sound consisted of heavier beats and a more intense sound than songs of earlier decades. These heavier beats and lyrics about alcohol, sex, drugs, violence and crime all were thought to be the cause of adolescent misconduct. Almost all of the music portrayed a lifestyle that was not wanted among most of the population, but definitely influenced

Racism is not something that an individual is born with. When you are a kid, you do not see color, you just see a friend. Racism is a learned behavior, how each individual learns that behavior may vary from person to person, but the idea is still the same. Modern rap may not directly plant the seed of racism into someone’s heart, but it does everything necessary to make that seed grow and flourish into a vicious thorny brier full of hatred, ignorance, and prejudice. It would be both selfish and irresponsible to sit idly by while this problem unfolds, which is why I deemed it necessary to bring it to light. I am in no way saying that rap music as a genre is bad or evil. What I am saying is that the themes and lyrics contained in virtually every modern rap song are nothing short of appalling, and for some reason, we as a society have accepted this as the norm. My goal in writing this paper is to break this social norm and expose it for what it really is: evil. By eliminating this evil from the minds of our children, America can improve race relations within its borders, as well as ensure a promising future for

     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