Gangster Rap
In the mid 1980's, the music industry was shaken up with the birth of gangster rap. Artists such as Schoolly D and N.W.A produced hits such as "PSK What Does It Mean" and "F**k Tha Police." This new music genre portrayed images of gangs, guns, violence, and sexism, yet it was well received and became very popular in the span of just a few years. By the early 1990's, gangster rap had a home at the top of the charts. Some of the artists responsible for this were Dr. Dre and Eazy-E, both former members of N.W.A., Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, and Ice-T. While each of these rappers showcased a unique style, the lyrics in their work talked about acts of violence, discrimination, and sex in a way that made them appear common and acceptable. The nature
…show more content…
In a study done by Stanford University states yes, however they say the real question should be how much. Do they really have as much influence as we're led to believe? Elvis being criticized for "arousing things in teenagers that shouldn't be aroused" to Limp Bizkit convincing everyone it was okay to walk around with a wallet chain in their back pocket. Music has long been seen as an influence, on the youth especially. Early news report's called rapping “self-assertive boasting” and break-dancing “ritual warfare”; and two-decades later, it's continuing to face ill-formed misconceptions, seen as a bad influence on society rather than the direct product of a broken one. But are people's assumptions about hip-hop true? Do people really put on a rap song, go outside, and commit some …show more content…
Using the lyrics, a study by the Lab's Emmanuel Kohdra plotted the mentions of crime in rap music against actual crime rates. And what did he find? A lack of correlation, of course. "After the persistent media coverage about rap lyrics being used as evidence in trials, I decided that it would be beneficial to map crimes mentioned in rap lyrics against crime rates across the country,” his report reads. “The data showed very little correlation between the crimes in the lyrics and their counterparts. For example, a significant crime drop between 1993 and 1995 is easily seen while crimes mentioned in rap lyrics are steadily increasing." In this quote he’s stating that even though violence in rap music is at an all time high, crime rates are steadily decreasing. This shows that at least in the mid 90’s there was little to no correlation between rap and crime/violence.
Overall there should be no way that anyone can say rap makes children/teens violent. Many studies and tests have proven this. While there may be some violent and vulgar lyrics in rap music it wont affect anyone unless they have a predetermined mental illness. In that case it may be a different story. No one is saying the lyrics are okay but there not going to affect your children the
In a study done by Stanford University states yes, however they say the real question should be how much. Do they really have as much influence as we're led to believe? Elvis being criticized for "arousing things in teenagers that shouldn't be aroused" to Limp Bizkit convincing everyone it was okay to walk around with a wallet chain in their back pocket. Music has long been seen as an influence, on the youth especially. Early news report's called rapping “self-assertive boasting” and break-dancing “ritual warfare”; and two-decades later, it's continuing to face ill-formed misconceptions, seen as a bad influence on society rather than the direct product of a broken one. But are people's assumptions about hip-hop true? Do people really put on a rap song, go outside, and commit some …show more content…
Using the lyrics, a study by the Lab's Emmanuel Kohdra plotted the mentions of crime in rap music against actual crime rates. And what did he find? A lack of correlation, of course. "After the persistent media coverage about rap lyrics being used as evidence in trials, I decided that it would be beneficial to map crimes mentioned in rap lyrics against crime rates across the country,” his report reads. “The data showed very little correlation between the crimes in the lyrics and their counterparts. For example, a significant crime drop between 1993 and 1995 is easily seen while crimes mentioned in rap lyrics are steadily increasing." In this quote he’s stating that even though violence in rap music is at an all time high, crime rates are steadily decreasing. This shows that at least in the mid 90’s there was little to no correlation between rap and crime/violence.
Overall there should be no way that anyone can say rap makes children/teens violent. Many studies and tests have proven this. While there may be some violent and vulgar lyrics in rap music it wont affect anyone unless they have a predetermined mental illness. In that case it may be a different story. No one is saying the lyrics are okay but there not going to affect your children the