Rap Is a Bad Influence in Young People free essay sample

Many gangsta hip-hop artists justify their music by claiming they are only retelling the experiences of their lives on the streets. However, close analysis of the song lyrics often reveals a plethora of curse words and no substance. According to commentators such as those found on Urban Dictionary. com, many artists have been forced to create artificial gangsta images for the sake of a lucrative career. Many young people idolize these artists and imitate their behavior. Trends in using gunshots as rhythmical beats, graphic lyrical content depicting violent scenes and glorifying gang life and records of popular rap stars serving prison sentences make the notion that rap music spreads violence in society a plausible scenario. Substance Abuse A study by Denise Herd of Berkeleys School of Public Health showed that 77 percent of the rap music studied made references to drug and alcohol abuse. Country music followed in second place with only 36 percent. We will write a custom essay sample on Rap Is a Bad Influence in Young People or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page According to a WebMD article, African American girls between the ages of 14 and 18 who watched these types of music videos for 14 hours per week or more were 1. times more likely to drink and use drugs than other girls Language and Profanity Rap music presents an entirely new vocabulary your teen wont pick up in English class. Expletives, explicit language and profanity appear to be a requisite part of many rap songs lyrical composition. Parents do have a fighting chance in this battle, however. Parental guidance ratings now appear on controversial music to alert them to CDs whose content includes inappropriate or offensive language. Some argue, however, that the stickers only serve to attract young consumers, rather than deter them. Sexuality Frequent graphic references to sexual acts between men and women are another hallmark of rap music, and promiscuity is promoted in songs. A view of women as sexual objects pervade the music, and influences the youths who listen to it. The same girls referenced in the WebMD article were twice as likely to have multiple sex partners and 1. 5 times more likely to get to get a sexually transmitted disease. Desensitizing When teens watch countless hours of violent content on many hip-hop videos or hear them on CDs, it desensitizes them to the dangers of being overly aggressive. For example, if a teen hears a song that encourages them to disrespect cops, they will internalize it. Degrading Teenage boys should be raised to treat all women with respect, but when they see constant images of women dancing in a raunchy manner or as going along with the mistreatment from men in the video, they learn to adopt this belief. Racial Stereotypes We would like to think that America has healed from its harsh racial past, but thats not so. Rap music reinforces racial stereotypes by projecting black males as primarily criminals or unfaithful partners who lack character. This makes it harder for young black men who do the right thing to get noticed. False Hopes A major part of hip-hop is the bragging about the fancy houses, big money and nice cars they have because theyre hip-hop artists, giving teens false hopes because not all of them will become rappers. As a result, they fail to develop other talents that can turn into a rewarding career. Solutions Parents should monitor what kind of entertainment their kids are involved in and discuss why certain types of entertainment are harmful to them. Parents should also know who their childs friends are and in what ways they are affecting their child.