Rap Music Bad Influence On Kids?

[coolade123]

Is rap music a bad influence on kids these days? I, personally, disagree with that, I wouldn't listen/do what the lyrics say in those songs. Of course most rap songs have some "bad" lyrics but I don't think most kids would necessarily do what they say.

Discuss.

[seththelezzy]

Well, that is you. Some people would listen to those lyrics and mimic the actions, especially teenagers/young adults. I live in an area where rap/hip-hop is very popular and there have been people influenced by rap and have repeated the actions that were stated in their currently favorite rap song.

Rap definitely is a bad influence and the artists are making millions of dollars off of it. It's not stopping anytime soon and parents of the juveniles aren't helping.

[ledwix]

Several types of music can be considered a bad influence. In fact, almost all genres can. If you can personally control yourself and resist engaging in the activities mused by the song lyrics, that does not mean that others can. People gradually grow to accept pretty much anything as normal if they are exposed to it for a long enough time. Things that seem normal are more likely to be regarded as acceptable, making a person think that it is okay to perform explicit activities. Obviously, genres such rock, rap, and others sometimes contain themes that promote prostitution, drinking, violence, etc, and are a bad influence on kids and anyone in general. Because of the amount of money being made in the industry, however, there's no easy way to stop this. The current mass media seems to provide the image that African Americans should do drugs, rap, play basketball, and engage in prostitution. This image is burned into some Americans, limiting their potential and effectively destroying their futures. The same may be applied to all cultures/ethnicities; I was just examining the role of rap in African American culture. Of course, you can't just point to rap when looking at what is causing the corrupt side of the youth to come about today. There are tons of genres of music and other media affecting it.

[fido123]

I think rap is one very piece of the ganster media that say's to be a racist ass-wipe and steal and ****. I belive this because fact is most "gansters" arn't under privlaged butjust do it to be cool and bascially pose as a poor person which is retarted in the first place.

[seththelezzy]

Originally Posted by ledwix

...mass media seems to provide the image that African Americans should do drugs, rap, play basketball, and engage in prostitution. This image is burned into some Americans, limiting their potential and effectively destroying their...

... Anyways...

But violence, prostitution, etc. are mostly directly targeted in rap. Rock is not as targeted in these types of activities, but there is some music in this genre that does target this. Rap is just the most open about it. He didn't say that rap was the only genre that targeted this.

[ledwix]

sorry, nothing wrong with playing basketball. I just included it because it is part of the portrayed image.

[flashman41]

Originally Posted by ledwix

sorry, nothing wrong with playing basketball. I just included it because it is part of the portrayed image.

Yeah, he totally misread what you said. The portrayed image, not anything you thing or use as a prejudice.

[ThePerson98]

It truthfully depends on the song itself..

People like music so much because it gets their mind going, if you want to call it that. It influences emotions, if music is dark and creepyish then guess how it's going to influence the emotions.

[x So Sick x1]

To me letting yourself be influenced by medial things is what the problem is. I mean, if people are going to say that certain things influence people, then they must realize that MUCH OF MEDIA IS INFLUENTIAL. Now, if you listen to a rap song that talks about selling drugs and getting girls pregnant at a young age, or if you play a video game where you sell drugs and rob cars for money, who's to say they don't influence people? Saying rap music influences people is just as vague as saying video games influence people. Magazines influence girls to be abnormally skinny, and that is what causes many females to develop anorexia. Men's magazines influence the use of steroids and other drugs to bulk up.

Being so easily influenced by the media is the problem, people begin to lose sight of what reality is and they begin to think, "Hey, if the guy in the song does it, i could, too".

Anyways, no i don't think music influences MOST people. However the question is about kids, and i think that because of their age their minds are much easier influenced, and so i think some music can be bad for kids. But as you get older you should begin to realize that music shouldn't influence your LIFE (moods, maybe, but use your head and you can't go wrong).

[jewpinthethird]

The blacks are trying to infiltrate our white culture with their jive talk and tomfoolery through the deployment of rap music.

But seriously, if it weren't for the fact that rap music is made up of individuals of African-American descent, I doubt people would make as fuse over the contents of rap/hip-hop lyrics as they do now.

[Wlfwnd91]

Everything is a bad influence in the eyes of someone, and your question was really really limited and vague. Also, it seems like ledwix wants to censor music because it may be a bad influence.

I think that children 8th grade and younger need to be monitored and have their music interpreted for them by their parents, or their parents should restrict their children from the music in the first place if it talks about poppin caps in someone's ass and smokin blunts. However when high school hits you should have the ability to tell what's right and what's wrong and what's literal and what's not. Eminem has even said in one of his songs "I don't blame you I wouldn't let Haylie (sp) listen to me neither". He understands parents not wanting his kids listening to his stuff, but he also insults them religiously for letting them, because all they do is sit and bitch and whine when they should be using that energy to raise their children.

Rap music is only a bad influence to idiots who let themselves be influenced by it. If you're 11 years old and hear some rapper say "And I curb stomped dat bitch and then ****ed my ho" Yea, it will be a bad influence. But, if parents did their jobs then it wouldn't be.

Is it a bad influence? Yes
Is it their fault? No

[GuidoHunter]

I do think that rap music (specific rap music, of course, not all) enforces a VERY negative stereotype about successful black people.

Rap artists and sports stars are the most predominant examples of rich black people. By virtue of their position, they are idolized by kids. What do they teach, though? Being successful includes lots of drugs, lots of money, lots of sex, and lots of violence. Engaging in that violence and even getting murdered is honorable to rap music. The rappers frequently live their songs, thus encouraging younger people to do the same.

What's the result? Widespread use of ebonics and otherwise horrible grammar, widespread lack of respect for authority, almost no family values (what's the ratio of black single mothers to married parents again?), and a striking disparity in violent crime rates.

The people who have all those problems? Embodying rap music. That's tantamount to success.

There's a serious problem with recursion in the black community. Whom do kids have to idolize? The upstanding, successful black men and women like Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice? No, they're deemed "not black" by the black community! Bill Cosby is berated and discredited when he tries to suggest that the status of black culture is in a troubled spot, and that other black people are to blame for it! Sports stars? Okay, you've got your Michael Jordans and others in there who try to make a difference and do, but you also have the Kobe Bryant rapists and the Michael Irvin druggies and whoremongers.
Then you have the rap stars, who are a huge part of the black community as a whole. These people are, for the most part, societal vortices. They spiral down and away from anything that is sensible, decent, or worth encouraging and bring down anyone around them, too.

And these are the people who are idolized. Those kids who successfully live the rapper life only continue to reinforce the stereotype that successfull black people are thuggish, sex-craved, and have no respect for authority or education.

Not only that, but it also reinforces the thought that black people are victims.

You're damn right I think rap music is a bad influence.

@jewpin: can you name a white rapper who popularized and glorified the gangsta life so much that white kids sought to emulate it to a large degree? The reason the black artists are so targeted is because they're one of the biggest media influences on black youths. If you ask me why racism is as prevalent as it is today, it's not because people somehow think that they're inherently superior because of the color of their skin, it's because the black community has become an extension of the gangsta rappers' lives, something that is NOT desirable by any stretch of the imagination.

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com

[moches]

Some rap music could be considered a bad influence. There are themes about sex, guns, violence, beating people up, smoking, and alcohol in rap music. But as far as I'm concerned, most music is safe enough.

[ckj846]

It isn't just rap music that is a negative influence. Emo/Hardcore bands have a negative impact on youth because they talk about violence and drugs, sometimes to a much greater extent then rap songs.

I really do think that all forms of media have a bad influence on kids. Although media is to blame, I also think it is the responsibility of parents to control what kids listen to and are exposed to.

O_o

[MarukuAntoni]

i believe it is a bad influence on kids. those who have agreed on that matter have supported their opinion nicely. great argument.

[Wlfwnd91]

Originally Posted by MarukuAntoni

i believe it is a bad influence on kids. those who have agreed on that matter have supported their opinion nicely. great argument.

Now give us your argument

[jewpinthethird]

Originally Posted by GuidoHunter

@jewpin: can you name a white rapper who popularized and glorified the gangsta life so much that white kids sought to emulate it to a large degree? The reason the black artists are so targeted is because they're one of the biggest media influences on black youths. If you ask me why racism is as prevalent as it is today, it's not because people somehow think that they're inherently superior because of the color of their skin, it's because the black community has become an extension of the gangsta rappers' lives, something that is NOT desirable by any stretch of the imagination.

Of course the image portrayed by the gansta rap community isn't most the desirable, but it's not their responsibility to do what's ethically right. Record companies are businesses, they market what's popular. There's a demand for this kind of crap, therefore the company produces more crap. The "rap music" is the source of the problem, it just exasperates it. Getting rid of "undesirable" influences it's like slapping a bandage on tumor and calling it cured. Whatever happened to parents actually having a role in their children's lives?

[6 p01nt3d*st@r]

i cant hear anything they say

i dont think kids do eather

[FalcoLombardi]

it is a bad influenece - but what isnt these days?

i say let kids listen to it all they want, its real life anyway, and if they choose to follow a certain demographic, let them explore on their own and make their own mistakes

[Wlfwnd91]

Originally Posted by FalcoLombardi

it is a bad influenece - but what isnt these days?

i say let kids listen to it all they want, its real life anyway, and if they choose to follow a certain demographic, let them explore on their own and make their own mistakes

I would agree if it was only their own lives they were putting in danger. But, when kids hear about these gangsters bangin the bitches and shootin everything else, then it stops being just their mistakes and ends up having casualties to their mistakes.