RAP; The anti music.
Rap music may be responsible for consumerism, violence and std manifestation among other things. How could such an epidemic of ignorance be widespread so quickly? Teenagers and preteens are spending more time listening to this kind of music than any other, and the results are alarming.
Rap music is a cross-cultural movement originating in the 1970's among the urban underground. Most often rap consisted of a personal experiences recited in an intensely rhythmic lyrical form over a beat using literary devices such as assonance, alliteration, and rhyme. Beats were usually created by samples of precussion breaks, soul, funk and rock songs. It’s early pioneers included Dj’s and Mc’s. The movement was more popular with latinos and african americans, but caught on with many other nationalities as it progressed to the mainstream. Rap had become a commercially recorded music genre by 1979.
. The genre was well respected in the music industry until about 1990, when a new form of the music called “gangsta rap” became a staple for popular American music. The lyrics caused significant controversy because they were perceived as promoting drug use, sexual acts, and violence. Rap music of today has not changed too much in the sense of promoting questionable content.
Modern rap songs are primarily focused on the high-society lifestyle of expensive cars, jewelry and clothing or anything that represents wealth and a high social status. In 2003, more than 30 different brands/products were mentioned in over100 songs. Among the most mentioned products were expensive cars, clothing and alcohol. Mercedes, Lexus, Gucci, Cadillac, Prada, Hennessy and Cristal were part of the top ten most mentioned brands in rap songs. Materialism is the common theme here.
Another hot topic for rap music of today is gangs and being “gangsta”. Rap artists sing about gangs they have never been in to be associated with those who maybe have, giving them a psuedo-gangsta appeal. The egotistic and degenerate attitudes of these artists influence youth to imitate the glamorized psuedo-gangsta persona, even though the kids may not be in a gang. Youth influenced by such things begin to take on anti-social behavior, peer harassment, rejection of authority, neglect towards education, and petty crimes such as grafiti and vandalism. Youth listening to an average of 14 hours of rap music a week, compared to youth who did not were three times more likely to hit a teacher, and 2.5 more likely to get arrested.
British culture Minister Kim Howells stated on a radio interview “For years I have been very worried about these hateful lyrics that these boasting macho idiot rappers come out with. Lyrics don’t kill people, but they don’t half enhance the fare we get from the videos and films. It has created a culture where killing is almost a fashion accessory.”
Music videos of the genre are attacked by cencorship, blanking out half of the lyrics, leaving the rest of the lyrics unintelligible. Clothing brands and unnapropriate scenes are blurred out, leaving only half of the video which still shows half naked women parading around drinking alcohol. In 2001 a policy statement from the AAP found that 75% of music videos involved sexual imagery. Americas Youth is becoming desensitized to such images, leading young women to believe that such behavior is acceptable. Girls listening to 14 hours of rap per week were twice as likely to have multiple sexual partners and 1.5 times more likely to get a sexually transmitted disease, use drugs, or drink alcohol.
An interview with Josh Lake, on January 25 2006, he stated an opinion based on personal experience."Rap music makes kids violent. It fills the children with nonsense of violence, sex, and drugs. Making those things seem good. Where in reality these so called "thugs" haven't been to the real ghettos. I met Ice Cube, and he smiled at me and I talked to him of modern politics. We discussed the modernization of culture in eastern Asia over time. Boy did we have a good conversation. Then we kept on playing golf. He told me he never shot anyone, never even held a gun outside of movies. He's a fake..a wanksta as you would say, but this issue is all just a conundrum, no one will ever have an end to it."
While the majority of fans are capable of distinguishing entertainment from lessons in social conduct, an evident pseudo-gangsta sub-culture has risen amongst North American youth. It is a parents job to keep a watchful eye on the content their children are taking in. Encourage your children to listen to positive rap artists instead of the fake gangsta garbage circling MTV and BET.
Rap music is a cross-cultural movement originating in the 1970's among the urban underground. Most often rap consisted of a personal experiences recited in an intensely rhythmic lyrical form over a beat using literary devices such as assonance, alliteration, and rhyme. Beats were usually created by samples of precussion breaks, soul, funk and rock songs. It’s early pioneers included Dj’s and Mc’s. The movement was more popular with latinos and african americans, but caught on with many other nationalities as it progressed to the mainstream. Rap had become a commercially recorded music genre by 1979.
. The genre was well respected in the music industry until about 1990, when a new form of the music called “gangsta rap” became a staple for popular American music. The lyrics caused significant controversy because they were perceived as promoting drug use, sexual acts, and violence. Rap music of today has not changed too much in the sense of promoting questionable content.
Modern rap songs are primarily focused on the high-society lifestyle of expensive cars, jewelry and clothing or anything that represents wealth and a high social status. In 2003, more than 30 different brands/products were mentioned in over100 songs. Among the most mentioned products were expensive cars, clothing and alcohol. Mercedes, Lexus, Gucci, Cadillac, Prada, Hennessy and Cristal were part of the top ten most mentioned brands in rap songs. Materialism is the common theme here.
Another hot topic for rap music of today is gangs and being “gangsta”. Rap artists sing about gangs they have never been in to be associated with those who maybe have, giving them a psuedo-gangsta appeal. The egotistic and degenerate attitudes of these artists influence youth to imitate the glamorized psuedo-gangsta persona, even though the kids may not be in a gang. Youth influenced by such things begin to take on anti-social behavior, peer harassment, rejection of authority, neglect towards education, and petty crimes such as grafiti and vandalism. Youth listening to an average of 14 hours of rap music a week, compared to youth who did not were three times more likely to hit a teacher, and 2.5 more likely to get arrested.
British culture Minister Kim Howells stated on a radio interview “For years I have been very worried about these hateful lyrics that these boasting macho idiot rappers come out with. Lyrics don’t kill people, but they don’t half enhance the fare we get from the videos and films. It has created a culture where killing is almost a fashion accessory.”
Music videos of the genre are attacked by cencorship, blanking out half of the lyrics, leaving the rest of the lyrics unintelligible. Clothing brands and unnapropriate scenes are blurred out, leaving only half of the video which still shows half naked women parading around drinking alcohol. In 2001 a policy statement from the AAP found that 75% of music videos involved sexual imagery. Americas Youth is becoming desensitized to such images, leading young women to believe that such behavior is acceptable. Girls listening to 14 hours of rap per week were twice as likely to have multiple sexual partners and 1.5 times more likely to get a sexually transmitted disease, use drugs, or drink alcohol.
An interview with Josh Lake, on January 25 2006, he stated an opinion based on personal experience."Rap music makes kids violent. It fills the children with nonsense of violence, sex, and drugs. Making those things seem good. Where in reality these so called "thugs" haven't been to the real ghettos. I met Ice Cube, and he smiled at me and I talked to him of modern politics. We discussed the modernization of culture in eastern Asia over time. Boy did we have a good conversation. Then we kept on playing golf. He told me he never shot anyone, never even held a gun outside of movies. He's a fake..a wanksta as you would say, but this issue is all just a conundrum, no one will ever have an end to it."
While the majority of fans are capable of distinguishing entertainment from lessons in social conduct, an evident pseudo-gangsta sub-culture has risen amongst North American youth. It is a parents job to keep a watchful eye on the content their children are taking in. Encourage your children to listen to positive rap artists instead of the fake gangsta garbage circling MTV and BET.