Rap Music

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at rap music and its influence on today's youth, especially in the black community. It looks at the history of rap music, the lyrics and examines both its proponents and opponents. The lifestyles of the artists themselves are examined, as is the message they send, and the affect they have on their audience, whether intentional, or not.

From the Paper:

"However, life often imitates art. Gangsta rap, a type of rap music made most popular by Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, glorifies violence such as murder, rape, and stealing. These two men in particular are role models to millions of young children who saw both of these icons die by way of gun violence. Despite their deaths, rap music continues to portray gang life and violence as something trendy and "cool". Drug use is also constantly glorified - west coast rappers such as Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre popularized the marijuana leaf in their lyrics; so much so that t-shirts, hats and bumper stickers with the bright green leaves were sold all over the country. I cannot fathom that the promotion of such illegal activities can bring about any positive results. Whether they desire to be or not, these entertainers are role models to young children and older teens. Their influence upon such impressionable minds is being used to desensitize their lives regarding violence, guns, gangs and drug use while glorifying life without a father, living on welfare and spending time in jail."

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