Have you ever wondered if letting children listen to whatever music they wanted to would ever have a bad influence on them? Parents today try and control what their kids listen to, but they sometimes end up failing. Since teens and young adults have the largest influence on music, they are the ones who will decide what will be the most popular music genre in pop culture. Some parents believe that letting their children listen to “gangster rap” or any other form of harmful and vulgar music will turn them into a psychopathic cop killer. With the this being true in some cases, it can be a cause for concern. The problem that most parents actually have with these types of harmful music is that it changes the way their children act and speak towards…
According to Mary Eberstadt, adolescent popular music deemed degrading by American parents, like that of rap superstar Eminem, centers on that children need parents. She’s discovered a truth within the music, stating that it’s shaped from broken homes, abuse, and neglect, and with Eminem and his message, she backs up her idea.…
Dr. Boyce Watkins debates with Michael Eric Dyson on whether or not hip hop artists should be held accountable for their words. Both off these men already know, all of the artist should be held accountable, however if we can put the artist to task to stop making that kind of idiotic music, will we have the power to stop that machine that has rob us blind but still put out recording artists slaves that get plenty but they are selfish and it good and bad to an extent? Dr. Watkins points out, that the fact of us and others being bombarded with these negative images of the young Black Male in the mass media, appears to be taking a heavy toll in terms of the self-image of far too many young Black people and in the way these young people are perceived in the minds of the…
Is hip hop ruining our teenager’s lives? A lot of people say that it is. Statistics show that teenagers that listen to Hip Hop music are typically more violent, and also a lot more social. The use of profane language absurd music videos and promotion of drugs and other substances is often the cause to be. But look past all the speculations and see if you see the culture, the moral value, and the just all around uplifting mood you get from listening to rap music.…
1. Who sang at the Grammy’s in Spanish in the late 1990s? What was the reaction?…
To start at the roots of hip hop however you can clearly see that the message of the music was not to promote violence, but to help curb crime and show that it’s not glamorous. During the 1980’s you had artists like Grand Master Flash, and Public Enemy who preached black empowerment, and left imparting lessons that didn’t hinder but allow black culture to grow, as well as morale. This leads people to pondering nowadays, what happened to this once positive, intelligent music that defined a race and culture? You have 12 year old children listening to vulgar raps about sex, and prostitution, and for black kids in poor ghetto neighborhoods this fantasy driven music glamorizing crime, is seen as the sole “voice” for these children ultimately view that lifestyle as the true way they should be acting. It is as if hip hop music is still attempting to sell this image of the crime life, even when most of the artists have all the money in the world. Hip hop basically reversed the accomplishments of the black community, disguising itself as pertaining a…
Society is surrounded by the message it sends, and is also influenced to follow the message because it has become common place. However in its defense, I listen to gansta rap, and I have not gone out and committed any crimes, or tried to influence others to commit crimes. The real problem is people are too influenced by the media, what they hear and what they see. Gangsta rap is a genre of music, however the influence it has upon the younger generation is it makes them believe that being a gangsta, having a gun and demeaning women gives the power and authority. I feel as though if night clubs and bars ban rap music from being played, there will be no change. Rap music will still exist and individuals will still listen to the music at their own free will. According to The Daily Collegian Online, "Those young people who have faulty parenting or no parenting at all are particularly vulnerable to the influence of negative rap (gangsta rap)" (Washington Post). Without parenting, a problem exits for young black teens. The problem is there isn't an authority figure to tell kids that this gangsta rap is fiction that is detrimental to…
Media often paints a different picture than as seen by the eye. Often heard on the headlines are the bad and the ugly never the good. One picture that is often skewed by the media is that of hip hop. It is often heard that this genre is a negative influence on children, as the message put out by these rappers is not appropriate for today’s youth. The lifestyle is too violent and the lyrics are too harsh. All this is skewed in the wrong direction. As the hip hop genre is impactful and helpful for the youth of the world.…
The connection between politics and music can sometimes be rather discreet, and a lot of songwriters today include many messages in their song lyrics which would appear subliminal until analysed. Political issues are expressed in music and I believe this is because music is one of the most effective ways to reach out to people, as not everyone watches the news or picks up a newspaper. Because popular musicians have such a large fan base and a strong influential impact on their fans, it would work effectively to openly promote and support political candidates as well as particular causes, or write their music in order to rebel against them. A great example of this is the song 'if I was president' by Wycliffe jean, this song was inspired by conspiracy theory, because it was believed that unnecessary amounts of money has been spent on the war and the president just sits back and looks at what is happening, Wycliffe believes that every time somebody comes along to try and present the truth, they'd be ‘assassinated’. He wrote this song and put himself in the president's position, believing that he himself would be assassinated the same as martin Luther King and John F Kennedy did. Wycliffe believes that the 'children' should be told the truth, and everyone should strive to be the president. In 2008, will I am produced two video's which were made in order to make America support the work of Barrack Obama. The song 'we are the ones' features people from different walks of life explaining what they would like to change about the earth. One example is 'I think it's time to change, I want a better future for my children' after each person gives an opinion. All of the people featured in the video recite Obama's name. This video and the video 'yes we can' became very popular with over 28 million views between them. ‘Will.i.am didn't set out to make history. In fact, says the Black Eyed Peas front man, he's not even…
Music Lyrics being NON-VIOLENT Rap music can be considered a style of art, and a way for the artists to express feelings through their words on paper. However, there are quite a few rap artists that get criticized for their lyrics. In my essay, I want to discuss why rappers use certain lyrics in their music and why people shouldn’t believe that it causes violence among the younger generations. People shouldn’t censor the music just because of violent, vulgar and abusive messages it promotes to the world. I believe in my own mind, that there is a reason for these types of lyrics that rap artists use and I will simply explain those reasons in this essay. Rap has been called one of the most important music forces to emerge in two decades. It’s pounding beats and staccato rhymes exploded on the streets of the urban America in the early 1980s and since have become the theme music and lyrical heart of the vibrant youth culture called hip-hop ( SIRS 1993). There are many different types of rap artist. There are some that talk about money, some talk about righteousness, and the list goes on and on. Every rap artist had their own way of expressing themselves. There are those that talk about sex, drugs, and violence who receive the negative attention( SIRS 1993). People, think this so- called gangster rap is a bad influence on children in the world and that it promotes violence and that it also is abusive to women. Delores Tucker, head of national congress of black women has been among those pressuring different record companies to stop distributing gangster rap music. There were other significant names that participated in this action. Names like Senate Majority leader Bob dole, and former education Secretary William J. Bennett(Surveys, pg. 1). There are some rap artists that have been openly criticized for their lyrics. Rappers like Lil Kim, Too Short, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and a member from “Too Live Crew,” named Luke Skywalker. These rap artists in the past have been…
With over a billion songs in existence today, it is hard to imagine that anyone has never heard a song before and for most people inspired by at least one of them. There is a big controversy stating that rap music has, and is still influencing our younger generation and to certain amplitude I agree. The jails across America are being filled to capacity over violent confrontations in our streets. Many killings are occurring after bar and nightclub shootings from local gang members using drugs and playing rap music. Some of the music being listened to is introducing children to drugs sex and jail could this be all bad? Surly not! Studying the lyrics to some of your most hated rap songs my just provide you with some of the problems our society faces and the solutions that will help us surmount…
Parents try to blame certain solution on hip hop. They should take a deeper look starting at home, because if the apples are bruised, rotten and jacked up, they didn't fall far from the trees. Many rapper points out the fact about life and parents just don’t understand that. Hip hop culture profound reality of black culture and given thousand young youth to examine their own lives. Parents really have to think about this because hip hop is not going any where. There are many positive contributions from the hip hop culture. The slam poetry settings evolved out of the hip-hop community. Some of it does not have any curse words. Young folks have found a way to express themselves that was really inspiredby rap.…
Music has changed so much over the years and this generation is full of rap/hip hop music. Rap and hip hop music does not always have a negative effect on a teen's behaviour/language. However, some of the effects can turn out to be negative but that's how life is a lot of people do get into the habit of drinking or smoking. Some lyrics are actually meaningful, they talk about the word “loyal” doesn't mean anything. They also talk about how one's behaviour has changed due to certain circumstances. If a book can't be judged by its cover then neither can the lyrics without looking for the deeper meaning. And most importantly the people behind the music have struggled through their lives with the most pain. Rap and hip hop music may not be as…
Teenagers are being hugely affected by the music they hear because music artists used drugs to produce such as using language that persist of lyrics talking about doing drugs. Music that contains this kind language used in music should be banned to teenagers because this music could affect them to where they might want to try to do drugs. Hip hop and rap have the biggest influence on teenagers in today’s societies but I think we should have parental lock on teenagers should listen as far as music. Drug addictions in teenagers are growing stronger and should be stopped because they would be destroying future generations when they are needed to take control of the world.…
They say that the children are the future. Is this statement true? Yes, it is. Todays’ children can either be future leaders of tomorrow, or present criminals of today. An at-risk youth is a youth who is extremely vulnerable to the negative consequences of school failure, substance abuse, and early sexuality. Some may ask the question: How does a young person get to that point? It starts in the home. Most youths grow up in single parent homes where the stats largely show having no father figure present. This being so, this can have a negative impact on a young person. Young people need that structure, they need that stability of knowing that a daughter can look up to her father, and a son can be taught to be an honest man. Nowadays, young girls are being preyed on by older men, and young boys are taking on television lifestyles. There are few positive role models today for young people to look up to. We as adults need to show and teach these young people the values of life. We have to let them know that instead of aiming to be a hip hop star, they should aim to be a doctor, or another prominent position in life where a young person can prosper. I’m not trying to take anything away from the hip hop artists of the world, but a lot of the spoken words that come out of these artists mouths are either fictitious, or negative. Some artists glorify the world of drug dealing and violence not knowing or realizing that young people are taking what they say to heart. They are picking up guns instead of books, and it’s sad because I, myself see the potential in so many of the younger generation heading down the wrong road. When I look at television news, it’s either seeing youths getting murdered by other youths, or youths getting put in jail. The other day I dropped my fourteen year old daughter off at school and saw at least four young girls of the same age pregnant. It seems that todays’ youth are headed down the path of destruction. So…