Rap Music: The Final Thought

 As the popularity of rap music in today’s society is dramatically increasing, violence and drug use though teens have also been on the rise. As I was digging though some studies and facts, I had found one that was particularly surprising. In an online article I have recently found, states that American Statistics show (in music lyrics) Forty-seven percent (47%) of mothers with children in public schools believe that violent messages in rap music contribute "a great deal" to school violence, and 66% of 13- to 17-year-old's believe violence in music is partly responsible for violent crimes like the 1999 Columbine High School shootings. To me, that says a lot about what huge impact rap music and other violent music has on today’s youth.  Many popular rappers today such as Lil Wayne, Eminem, Nas, along with many other star rappers, seem to only rap about money, sex, drugs, and alcohol abuse. This leads teens to believe that abusing drugs, sex, or alcohol is “cool”. Music has such an influence on everybody on a daily basis. If music didn't influence us, nobody would even listen to it and the whole concept of music would be worthless. Along with all of the violence in recent history, should we blame it on the rap music industry? I don’t believe that we should, although I do believe that listening to rap music causes violence in young teens.  Below is a video that I found on YouTube regarding the effects of rap music on teens.  

                                           

                According to this particular video, statistics say that teens between the ages of 13 to 17 listen to about 4 to 5 hours of some kind of music per day. Many rappers just flaunt about their riches and fame in their music and portray a really bad example on kids. What kids don’t know is how to handle this type of music responsibly. They look up to bug star rappers because of their money and fame, and believe that you will be just like them if you abuse alcohol and drugs and even sex. They make it seem like this type of living is acceptable for young teens to live. When in reality it is just not okay.  

                Overall, I do believe that rap music does have a powerful influence on teens in today’s society. It leads them to think that violence is just perfectly fine. They think that if the rapper can get away with it, they can to. After a long process of critical thinking and synthesis over this topic, I strongly agree that today’s rap industry does in fact have a strong influence on teens. Although that this is my own opinion, it is up to you initially if this type of music is just plain wrong and demeaning towards not just kids, but also towards women, or if it is just freedom of speech throughout the rappers and that it is up to the youth to choose whether or not that this music influences them so strongly.