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Your Name
Ms. Kirkpatrick
English 5
21 October 2014
Title
Drugs. Alcohol. Partying all night long. Promiscuous young people. Gross amounts of money
being spent on self-indulgence. A complete lack of regard for both mental and physical health. When
the underlining elements of rap music and videos are laid out so plainly and in such blunt terms, this
increasingly popular and idolized genre of music seems far more detrimental than most parents are
aware of. Bumpin’ the latest Jay-Z or Drake tunes while rolling out of the school parking lot may seem
harmless on the surface—just another typical, acceptable-by-today's standards teenage behavior—
but the messages those lyrics are sending today's youth are doing far more harm than what is
immediately noticeable. Specifically, these messages are causing youth to be more violent, lowering
the self-esteem of young girls, and increasing young people’s reliance on drugs and alcohol.
The portrayal of violence as being cool is one of the elements of rap music and videos that is
negatively affecting young Americans today. A study conducted by the American Journal of Health in
2003 showed that teenagers exposed to rap music videos over a prolonged period of time were three
times more likely to hit a teacher and two and a half times more likely to be arrested at some point in
their life than teenagers with less exposure to rap music videos (American Public Health Association).
This information tells us that there is something we as a nation can tangibly do to decrease violence
in our country and keep young people out from behind bars: limit our young people's exposure to rap
music and videos—one of the things that is proven to be causing this behavior.
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In addition to causing youth to be more violent, exposure to rap music and videos also does
something devastating to the self-esteem of young girls—especially young African American girls—
causing them to be more promiscuous. In the same study conducted by the American Journal of
Health, it is explained that "the glorification of drugs, violence, and sex in rap videos is particularly
dangerous to young African Americans females who are not exposed to many positive role models in
the media" (American Public Health Association). Whereas Caucasian females have ample positive
role models to take lead from in our popular culture, the same is not true for their black
counterparts; Haley Barrys are few and far between in Hollywood. The American Public Health
Association points out that African American females frequently exposed to rap music and videos are
two times more likely to have multiple sexual partners than those exposed to less rap music and
videos and three times more likely to contract an STD. With a lack of positive role models in our
popular culture, and with rap’s portrayal of African American women being so degrading, young black
girls can only conclude that they, too, should be treated with disrespect and settle for a less-thanideal life. When our popular culture is constantly bombarding these girls with the message that they'll
never amount to more than a "dirty ho," they begin to believe it's true.
As if causing teenagers to be more violent and promiscuous isn't enough, prolonged exposure
to rap music and videos has also proven to increase young people’s reliance on drugs and alcohol.
…CONTINUE WITH 3RD BODY PARAGRAPH…
Doing lines of cocaine? No problem. Only makes you cooler. Partying all night with copious
amounts of shots and Patron on ice? Bring it on—it's the only way to spend a Saturday night. Beating
that woman down when she just won't listen you to? Darn straight. Who wants an opinionated broad
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capable of thought? These are the messages that parents, by permitting their children to listen to rap
music and videos, are allowing to permeate the minds of Young America. Because of these messages,
our youth are becoming more violent, promiscuous, and reliant on drugs and alcohol. But it doesn't
have to be this way. America has a choice, and it starts at home. As the role models of tomorrow's
leaders, parents must begin to limit their children’s exposure of rap music and videos. If they don't,
who knows which one of us will be left with a "cap busted in our #$$" next.
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Works Cited
"A Prospective Study of Exposure to Rap Music Videos and African
American Female Adolescents’ Health." American Journal of Health 12
06 2003. n. pag. Web. 21 Sep 2011. <
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447759/>.