We’ve all heard the argument before; rap music is evil, it’s turning the black young inner city youth into animals, they all want to kill each other and aim to imitate what they hear from rap music. Really, are the youth that stupid?
I think not.
For one, commercial rap music is increasingly bought by white, middle-class youth and secondly, most of the youth do not even listen to the type of music these critics blame for the violence.
Yes kids are easily influenced from an early age, they do imitate what they see, hear etc but the youth are also conscious beings who know exactly what they are doing when they are doing it. Why would they hide from the police if they didn’t know they were committing a crime? Let the youth take most if not all of the responsibility for their actions instead of placing the blame on someone or something else who more than likely, has nothing to do with the youths. The things that sway our views and attitudes to life rely mainly on the people WE interact with on a daily basis and/or the situations we put ourselves in and our responses to these situations. I listen to rap music, I live in a notorious area in south London yet I do not feel the need to pull a gun on anyone, I do not sell drugs nor do I take them. OK, OK, you can say it’s because I’m a woman so I’m less likely too but believe it or not, more women are increasingly turning to gang violence (don’t mess with us, seriously).
By the age of 16 or even as young as 12 you should know right from wrong. Of course we hear the odd news about an 8 year old murdering his or her brother because s/he was ‘imitating Chucky’, however I would blame the guardian for allowing someone so young to watch such a film in the first place. In saying that though, I can understand that it is not always easy to monitor your child 24/7. I remember watching ‘Chucky’, it really did nothing for me and certainly didn’t encourage me to commit an act of violence.
I believe the drive for violence comes from other factors such as the child’s parents or who they choose to hang out with as much as the child’s own mind. I admit, parents only have a limited amount of control over their kids, especially in the adolescent stage. This is because kids around the age of 16 want to go out and be with their friends and while they are at school, parents are not around or they cant be around because they’re working, all this limits control levels. However, I also believe that it is up to the parents to attempt to know what type of friends their kids are hanging with and then to take appropriate action as my parents did/do with us. It’s hard but possible. Blaming outside influences such as the government, teachers, rap music, violent TV is not the solution. Who else can I blame for my actions but myself? Rarely do any of these mediums actually tell any of these kids to commit a particular crime.
Money is the root of most of these industries. They will continue to sport violence on TV/cinema because it’s what we want to see and what we want to see we will pay for. It’s like a cycle. Would tobacco companies continue making cigarettes if no one smoked them? The industry responds to the demands of the consumer so I suppose I can say we are as much to blame. If we watch violence, how can we expect the youth not to watch them? If we listen to violence, more times than not, the kids will too. So who’s to blame?
To hold rap responsible for violence is extremely unfair. For one, there are many different forms of rap, take the difference between 50 Cent and Kanye West for an easy example. In addition, an image on the news showing dead people and men with guns in Iraq is just as violent if not worse because it’s real.
To quote a comment: “Frankly if you're going to shoot someone in order to gain respect, then that's not because you've been watching rap videos, it's because you're a idiot.”
Ya get me tho!
I think not.
For one, commercial rap music is increasingly bought by white, middle-class youth and secondly, most of the youth do not even listen to the type of music these critics blame for the violence.
Yes kids are easily influenced from an early age, they do imitate what they see, hear etc but the youth are also conscious beings who know exactly what they are doing when they are doing it. Why would they hide from the police if they didn’t know they were committing a crime? Let the youth take most if not all of the responsibility for their actions instead of placing the blame on someone or something else who more than likely, has nothing to do with the youths. The things that sway our views and attitudes to life rely mainly on the people WE interact with on a daily basis and/or the situations we put ourselves in and our responses to these situations. I listen to rap music, I live in a notorious area in south London yet I do not feel the need to pull a gun on anyone, I do not sell drugs nor do I take them. OK, OK, you can say it’s because I’m a woman so I’m less likely too but believe it or not, more women are increasingly turning to gang violence (don’t mess with us, seriously).
By the age of 16 or even as young as 12 you should know right from wrong. Of course we hear the odd news about an 8 year old murdering his or her brother because s/he was ‘imitating Chucky’, however I would blame the guardian for allowing someone so young to watch such a film in the first place. In saying that though, I can understand that it is not always easy to monitor your child 24/7. I remember watching ‘Chucky’, it really did nothing for me and certainly didn’t encourage me to commit an act of violence.
I believe the drive for violence comes from other factors such as the child’s parents or who they choose to hang out with as much as the child’s own mind. I admit, parents only have a limited amount of control over their kids, especially in the adolescent stage. This is because kids around the age of 16 want to go out and be with their friends and while they are at school, parents are not around or they cant be around because they’re working, all this limits control levels. However, I also believe that it is up to the parents to attempt to know what type of friends their kids are hanging with and then to take appropriate action as my parents did/do with us. It’s hard but possible. Blaming outside influences such as the government, teachers, rap music, violent TV is not the solution. Who else can I blame for my actions but myself? Rarely do any of these mediums actually tell any of these kids to commit a particular crime.
Money is the root of most of these industries. They will continue to sport violence on TV/cinema because it’s what we want to see and what we want to see we will pay for. It’s like a cycle. Would tobacco companies continue making cigarettes if no one smoked them? The industry responds to the demands of the consumer so I suppose I can say we are as much to blame. If we watch violence, how can we expect the youth not to watch them? If we listen to violence, more times than not, the kids will too. So who’s to blame?
To hold rap responsible for violence is extremely unfair. For one, there are many different forms of rap, take the difference between 50 Cent and Kanye West for an easy example. In addition, an image on the news showing dead people and men with guns in Iraq is just as violent if not worse because it’s real.
To quote a comment: “Frankly if you're going to shoot someone in order to gain respect, then that's not because you've been watching rap videos, it's because you're a idiot.”
Ya get me tho!
17 comments:
My favorite Rap album is Deltron 3030s album, Del the funky Homosapien, Dan the automator and Kid Koala(?), teaming up for a rather odd but really enjoyable concept album, I listen to it and low and behold i do not get the urge to create a computer virus, or pilot a giant mech, or even have a rap battle with my mother. I guess that would surprise a lot of people. Violence lives in people not music. Theres one common factor to every crime ever... and thats a criminal a person who does wrong, no matter what they watch, listen to, or read.
I agree with you hip hop is another scapegoat instead of resting the blame directly on upbringing and the actual ills of our society.
May I add you to me blogroll please?
Sure, go ahead
A lot good points raised.
BUT . . . just because I love arguing I can see why Hip Hop culture cathes a lot of heat.
It glorifies grimey lifestyles and isn't filled with positive messages. ESPECIALLY on the mainstream. Nowadays it's more about sex than violence though, so expect more bastards.
The culture is worse than the music . . . so to contradict myself slightly, Hip Hop culture is a contributing factor to many kids wayward lives.
Who's really shooting out to 'Candy Shop'? lol
As AKMan says
A lot of good points raised.
But I too wish to play Devil's Advocate
I believe everything you see, hear and experience has an influence on the self.
This is why billions are spent on advertising - if image and sound has no influence, no
money would be spent trying to influence. Look at all the Government Propaganda.
The crux of the matter lies in whether or not you choose to buy into the hype. And this is
where other influences come into play - parental units, education, peers etc.
You ask...
are the youth that stupid?
Yeah, some of them are.
E.g. A conversation I 'overheard' on bus taking place betwen some school age girlies who
were 'biggin up' some guy they considered 'a real gangsta' and as such 'hot'. He sells
drugs and carries a knife. Wow. That's hot.
parents are not around or they cant be around because they’re working,
This I believe is a big factor in lack of parental control, that and the fact that a lot
of parents do not know the difference between right and wrong themselves. Let's face it -
it is not an easy concept.
Interesting debate - to which I wrote a ton more but it got lost when I sent it into
hyperspace. This is the second attempt.
Sorry for all the unneccesary spacing. Don't know what happened with that.
Ahh Devil's Advocate. I understand both your points. Everything around us has influence on our actions etc etc. However, I often find that when talking about youths, people (politicians, teachers, even the parents themselves) tend to assume that kids are not capable of thinking for themselves. They have made a conscious decision to allow rap music to influence their lives and as they have allowed it, so too can they disallow it. This is exactly why I, and others who listen to rap music, have not decided that it would be 'cool' to shoot someone. After a certain age they are old enough to make decisions; Why choose to listen to rap music which promotes violence rather than search for one which promotes positive messages if you are so easily influenced? Both are available, why go for one and not the other?
If you decide to shoot someone, would it stand in court if you said 'It was the rap, the rap music made me do it!'? The truth is no one makes anyone do anything, it was a decision you made for yourself and you have to bear the reponsibility.
The 'it's always somebody else's fault' culture gets to me sometimes.
Dont worry about the spacing ohara although I did think it was weird lol.
Arguing is the best innit AK? ;)
Some rtap is good you know. Byron got there first with Don Juan whihc was downplayed in the same way but it is a good poem.
It all boils down to Aristotle and art (or as he put it drama) being cathartic. What effects it produces. I usually don't do this but take a look at the following from my blog
www.rehanqayoom.blogspot.com/2007/06/place-of-art-drama-in-islam.html
If rappers just went out and killed each other we would have no rappers and with any luck, no rap music.
Then I would be happy.
Hey I didn't want to be annon.
I say kill rappers and wrappers... maybe even small children.
I enjoyed reading the post. Well done.
Edgar.
Amiable fill someone in on and this fill someone in on helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you as your information.
Post a Comment