Rap Is Crap

Rap is Crap

“She ain’t nuttin but a hoochie mama…Smackin’ on your lips, put your hands on your hips…She ain’t nuttin but a hoochie mama…Oh I love those big brown eyes and the way you shake your thighs, acting like you’re so damn cute...” Rap music with lyrics like this play on the radio and in home stereos every day. Rap music pounds messages of sex and violence into the minds of young adults leaving behind their sexist and repetitive influential messages. Music has a very powerful influence on our emotions, moods, and behavior. Rap music influences teenagers negatively by increasing violent attitudes and promoting sexual aggression against women.

Very few people would argue the power of music. Mothers use it to rock their babies to sleep. Patriotic hymns can be used at rallies to evoke strong emotions of nationalism. Ballads have been used to incite rebellion. Some governments have viewed music so powerful that they ban it. In white dominated South Africa, centers of African music were destroyed and western music was declared forbidden in China during the Cultural Revolution.

Is music powerful enough to incite antisocial and violent behavior? According Johnson, Jackson and Gatto’s study on the deleterious effects of exposure to rap music, subjects in the violent exposure conditions (rap music) expressed greater acceptance of violence. Subjects in the violent exposure condition also reported a higher probability that they would engage in violence (Johnson). Music plays an important role in teenagers’ lies and listening to violent rap music promotes violent behavior. According to Gardstrom, rap music is the predominant music choice amongst male felony offenders ages 12 to 17 (Gardstrom). If rap music doesn’t directly cause violent behavior, it certainly is the music of choice for those who engage in it.

As well as violent behavior in general, misogynous rap music, with inappropriate slang terms, promotes sexual aggression against women. Barongan and Hall’s study suggests that music that promotes hatred towards women facilitates sexually aggressive behavior (Barongan). In several rap songs, the artists promote the use of alcohol and drugs to sexually assault women, viewing