Running head: POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE INFLUENCE OF RAP MUSIC ON SOCIETY

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE INFLUENCE OF RAP MUSIC ON SOCIETY

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Rap Music

Introduction

A genre of popular music founded on the combined styles of delivery by disc jockeys and mic

controllers. Rap music is be defined a musical genre that uses rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street

dialect, which is loosely recited over a musical background music. Studying of the history rap

music will help identify some of the negative and positive influence it has on society.

Hip-hop music is known well by its language, style, fashion, culture, values, and beliefs.

Hip music is in itself is a culture that parises sexuality, substance abuse, and violence. The

themes of the genre revolve around capitalism, sexism and mistreatment of women. Rap music

thrives on creativity melancholy. Artists are believed to be responding to the various oppressions

in their lives in a creative way in the form of words, phrases, and songs.

The violence and behavior associate with hip hop music can be viewed on MTV and

BET music channels. The media consumption habits that consist of radio, television, print media

and the internet, are on the rise among young African Americans especially college students.

According to research, 57% of African-American students between the ages of 16-20 who took

part in the study reported that they spend 3-4 hour a day watching television. A previous study

had indicated that approximately 96% of high school and middle school African American

watched music videos on television. Moreover, 50% of these students spend between 10 and 24

hours a week watching videos (Johnson & Gatto, 1995, p37-39)

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Historical background of hip hop music

The originals of rap music can be traced back in the streets of New York City. Hip hop

emerged during the middle 1970s. A New Yolk rapper by the name Love Bug was the first to

introduce the world to Hip hop music and culture. Hip Hop music at the time was viewed as a

campaign against urban violence. The music was considered safe and harmless. Groups such as

Sugar Hill Gang and Furious Five together with individual artists such as Kurtis Blow were

instrumental in setting the foundation of the Hip Hop industry. The song lyrics were mainly

positive and avoided sexual gestures, alcoholism, and drugs (Lee, 1999, P388-399).

The Furious Five and Grand Master Flash collaborated on the song ‘The Message'. The

song acted as a call of wake up to all hip-hop fans. The song focused on public policy issues, and

social injustices witnessed in the Reagan and Bush administration. The song remains the most

significant rap song to date due to its socially sensible words. Present day lyrics are less polite

with the main themes being drugs, money and sex instead of social mindful subjects.

Russell Simmons, the godfather of the music genre and culture, understood that the

culture was not going to become short-lived and that it had the ability of expanding after the

urban areas. He is acknowledged for coming up with the plan and organization of the industry.

His industriousness and commitment help bring hip-hop music to the mainstream benefiting

Master P, P Diddy, and Jay-Z, who are now hip-hop moguls. He is credited with the discovery of

LL Cool J, Blow Kurtis, and Beastie Boys. In the 1980s with the help of his college roommate

established the Def. Jam Records from their dorm room.

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Rap music grew into a cultural impression. However, the music has in past years deviated

from its original roots. In 1980s, the music embraced the life of violence and hostility. The rap

group, Niggaz with Attitude, emerged around this time. Their lyrics were revolved around

hostility and violence themes. Their music emphasized on police brutality, politics, and social

revolution. It ended up being called gangsta rap group. They openly rapped about destructive

behavior hence creating an awareness about important social factors in the African-American

societies. Their song ‘Fuck the Police' became controversial since it talked about anti –law

enforcement. It prompted the federal bureau of investigation to take action. The group’s most

notable members include Ice-Cube and Dr. Dre. The group’s impact cannot be overlooked (Lee,

1999, P388-399).

In the 1990s the financial doors of opportunity for rap music prospered. The rap music

culture was commercialized. Young African –Americans started adopting and exhibiting some of

the lifestyle associated with rap culture. Some of the lifestyle behavior include the use of

aggressive language, drug abuse, sexual hints and violence. Cable television and especially the

MTV and BET programs increased the status of rap music among college students. Within a

short time, rap artists became television and movie celebrities. Artists such as will smith and ice t

made a successful shift to television.

During these early times, black female rappers were often outshined. The rap music and

culture gratified male rappers who rose to fame by rapping about unfaithfulness, drug abuse and

dealing, black history and racial issues. Lady B was the first female to record a song. MC Lyte

and Queen Latifah are recognized for establishing and setting the pace for other female rappers.

They challenged some of the male rappers directly or indirectly concerning their sexist songs.

Consequently, male rappers started calling the black woman "bitches" an insult the female
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rappers retaliated by calling then "punks." Although the number of female rappers is still

compared to that of male rappers, the impact and success of female rappers should not be

understated.

As the rap music continued to flourish, a new group of artists rose, including Tupac,

Biggie, Snoop, and Jay-Z. Their focus was on re-shaping the image of rap music. They talked

about the essence of street lives in their songs. They started rapping about issues that the

mainstream society would not think of discussing. The evolution saw the emergence of younger

rappers from both genders. Rap artist from the South and East started rapping about live in their

populations. Their lyrics were projecting several new morals and behaviors. The new artists

moved away from the words of vulgarity and sexual aggression embraced by past artist. They

celebrated the negative aspects of street life and talked freely about street life issues such as

drugs, wealth, influence, and respect. Their lyrics called for social change in order to address the

social conditions of the black people. Their way and style of calling for change to be made was,

however, questionable.

New female rappers such as DaBrat and LiL'Kim surfaced alongside male artists such as

T.I, Ludacris, and Fifty Cent. The female rappers rapped about sexuality and violence and

enjoyed success along the way. Artists from both genders have been to keep the rap music and

culture alive. Misogynist standards, sexuality, drug and substance abuse, and violence continue

to be found in their lyrics. Socially conscious artists fail to enjoy widespread success compared

to the others who enjoy immense popularity. (Katel, 2007, p.538-539)

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Negative and positive influence of rap music on society

Patterns of risk taking behavior for instance violence, hostility, drug abuse, and

unexpected sexual behaviors continue to define the rap music industry. Several studies done on

the impact of rap music on the society dwell mostly on the negative side. It is important to note

that rap music inhibits a mixture of both positive and negative impacts. Hip hop music is

regarded as a vehicle through which many young African –American students can freely express

themselves. Moreover, rap music has helped in enlightening African-Americans on the main

economic and policy matters within America and without.

Rap music acts as effective means through which knowledge about a variety of lifestyle

themes can be gained. In the light of this, it is paramount to look at both the positive and

negative influence of rap music on society.

Negative influence of rap music on society

Risk taking behavior is one influence that is attributed to rap music and culture. Rap

music has continued over the years to gravitate towards hostility and violence. It is believed that

the violent themes, lyrics and videos found in the rap music influence negative conducts. The

inappropriate lyrics are shaping the attitudes and morals of many young people today. Lyrics on

guns and violence became a key theme in the 1980s and 1990s within the rap industry.

Behaviors and lifestyle modeled included drug abuse, sexual hints, violence, and hostility.

Themes found in gangsta rap music for example rape, assault, and verbal sexual abuse were

being embraced and adopted to the society.

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It has been established that that many people who listen to rap music are more aggressive

than those who listened to other genres of music. For instance students who listen to rap music

are more distrustful. Studies done on have shown an existence of a correlation between poor

grades, behavioral problems, drug abuse, and sexual hints among adolescent students. The

violent themes found in music lyrics and videos are believed to encourage aggressive and violent

thoughts. Young African Americans who love rap music are known to embrace violence and are

more likely to engage in violent actions (Johnson & Gatto, 1995, p37-39)

A lot of people continue to criticize rap music for its promotion of vulgar lyrics, images

and lifestyle displaying. The critics oppose the genre for its continued exploitation of the

females. Bill Cosby in his famous talk show has come out openly critiquing some of the popular

artists in the rap industry. The critics argue that rap music and its culture is exposing young

children to inappropriate material and behavior. The negative exhibition found within the rap

music and videos is swaying the societal values of present adolescents in a negative manner.

(Katel, 2007, p.529)

There is an increasing number of antisocial behavior in the television networks. The

center of disease control and prevention acknowledge these acts as a paramount public health

worry. There exist a lot of acts of violence in many television programs especially MTV and

BET. These channels are popular with African-Americans. The videos found in rap music are full

of alcohol drugs and sexuality. The industry is such that rap music that promote sexuality,

violence and vulgarity flourished whereas those that support positive behaviors struggle. The

actions modeled in the videos found in rap music has shaped the social morals of young African-

Americans in a negative way.

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Positive influence of rap music on society

Despite the negative behavior associated with rap music, it has shown that that it can still

promote positive culture change. Since its beginning, the rap music has consistently advanced

social and political change. The current generation of hip hop artists have positioned themselves

in a manner that they can be able to raise the much-needed awareness about social status. These

artists represent a new breed of agents who want social change as portrayed in their creativity

and actions from their lyrics. Their efforts can be seen in their attitudes and actions in creating

public consciousness of the need for social revolution. They create awareness on educational

reforms, HIV and AIDS, political economic and social inequalities. Russell Simmons efforts of

ensuring that African- Americans register as voters has been fruitful. More than 62% of African-

Americans are registered voters.

Rap community has been on the forefront in using music as a positive avenue to reach

out, educate, and promote pro-social activities such as reading and writing among the youth. The

rap industry has the ability of supporting public policies aimed at reducing violence in African-

American neighborhoods. Studies have shown that both boys and girls aged between 11and 14

are aware of HIV and AIDS as well as sexually transmitted infections after listening to rap

music. They further learned of ways in which they can protect themselves in addition to being

well prepared to engage in productive conversation on safe sex and self-restraint. It is important

to note also that rap music has afforded young people with a platform that they use to flex their

intelligence muscle and explore their creativity (Wiley, 1997, p.3-4)

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Conclusion

In sum, Rap music has both negative and positive influence on the society. The negative

side of the industry is often highlighted. It is, therefore, important to show the positive side of the

art. The rap industry and culture has been instrumental in addressing social conditions. If the

music lyrics and videos are properly used, social change can be quickly realized. Rap music has

raised awareness levels among the blacks than people are willing to recognize (Katel, 2007,

p.529)

Issues touching on HIV AND AIDS, drug abuse, early pregnancy, and violence can be

addressed through rap music and culture. Traditional methods of addressing these issues have

failed to reach the African-American population due to its inadequacies. Rap music is something

these people can relate with, and messages from it are readily embraced.
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References

Johnson, J., & Gatto, L. (1995). Violent Attitudes and Deferred Academic Aspirations:

Deleterious Effects of Exposure to Rap Music. BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL

PSYCHOLOGY

Lee, J. (1989). Gangsta Rap. Gangsta Rap,

Katel, P. (2007). Debating hip-hop. CQ Researcher, 17(23).

Wiley, D. (1997). Give `rap music' a positive spin. Rap Music, 13(6).