Running Head: RAP MUSIC CONTENT
The Effect of the Content in Rap Music
Stephanie Velarde
Sport and Medical Sciences Academy
March 2, 2015
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Music affects all Aspects of Teen’s Lives
Music has been around for centuries. It is something we all listen to whether it is rock,
hip-hop, or classical music. Music is something we all have in common, and it is something that
is present in our everyday lives. Whether it is played voluntarily or heard in a TV commercial ad,
whether it is present in a movie or heard through the loud speakers at retail stores (e.g. the mall)
music is something we cannot escape from. Nowadays, music can be transported with us
everywhere we go, so it is near to impossible to say that it is not important in today’s society,
specifically to youths and teens. One survey of 2,760 fourteen to sixteen year olds in ten different
southeastern cities showed that “they listened to music an average of 40 hours per week”
(“Impact of Music”, n.d.). Music should have a positive impact, including rap music, and that
can only be done if the lyrics and videos of songs convey positive messages.
Rap music has become a very prominent part in today’s pop culture, but exactly when did
rap originate? Rap music actually dates back thousands of years ago. It all starts in Africa with
the “griots”. “Griots” are village story tellers who tell stories of family and village events while
playing a simple instrument as an accompaniment. As of today, the griot is still used as one of
the major forms of communication in certain parts of Africa. This is where, and how, rap music
originated. The griot is the basic form of rap that we know of today (Wood, 2004).
Since the 1980s, when rap music began to gain popular attention, rap music immediately
became “criticized for its ‘street’ message and origins” (Dixon, n.d.). Although rap music began
to be thought as containing negative messages it was not until the mid 1990s when scholars
began studying the impact of rap music on audiences. All of the studies carried out from the
1990s and on, reveal practically the same thing about rap music—that it has a negative impact on
teens’ behaviors and attitudes (Dixon, n.d.).
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One of the first studies to specifically explore the influence of rap videos on emotional
and physical health revealed that rap music videos had a negative effect on teen girls. During the
course of one year, 522 black girls were studied and it was found that “the girls who
viewed…[rap] videos for at least 14 hours per week were far more likely to practice numerous
destructive behaviors” (Kirchheimer, 2003). Example of these risky behaviors included hitting a
teacher, getting arrested, and having multiple sex partners. This research was carried out by
Ralph J. DiClemente, PhD, of Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health (Kirchheimer,
2003).
In the study, researchers found that “compared to those who never or rarely watched [rap]
videos” (Kirchheimer, 2003) the girls who did were more likely to partake in risky behaviors.
This might show that rap music videos can have a negative impact, but it also shows that it is
only because of their content. The girls watching the rap videos with explicit content were the
ones who developed these behaviors not those who did not watch explicit rap videos: “Teens
who spend more time watching the sex and violence depicted in the ‘reel’ life of ‘gangsta’ rap
music videos are more likely to practice these behaviors in real life” (Kirchheimer, 2003). A
separate study concluded the same thing—that exposure to these types of rap videos, especially
gangsta rap, which is explicit about sex and violence, was “prospectively associated with the
occurrence of health risk behaviors”. The same risk behaviors the first study described
(Wingood, 2003). Thus, the type of content in these rap music videos is what needs to change. If
the content was not so explicit then the messages conveyed by the videos would not be so
negative.
Another study carried out by Johnson, Jackson and Gatto (1995) found out that “teens
exposed to violent rap music expressed greater acceptance of the use of violence and reported
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that they would likely engage in violence in the future” (Dixon, n.d.). In other words, it is
showing that violent rap themes can lead to violent thoughts and actions. Through the same study
it was also revealed that black teens who listened to gangsta rap music would be more prominent
to engage in violent behavior and drug selling. It is the “violent themes” in rap music that causes
greater acceptance of the use of violence (Dixon, n.d.). The same proved true in the study carried
out by Ballard, Dodson, and Bazzini. They proved that the antisocial rap lyrics are what caused a
negative impact in teens. Ballard, Dodson and Bazzini were part of a 1999 study that found that
“antisocial rap lyrics were less likely to inspire prosocial behaviors” (Dixon, n.d.). Those same
aggressive behaviors were also present in the studies carried out by Henderson, Pinn, Powell,
Rose, and Watts due to, again, “rap lyrics [with]…subordinating words” (Dixon, n.d.). All of
these studies indicate that the lyrics are the ones that cause these negative consequences—lyrics
depicting violent themes.
These same lyrics are dominant in most rap songs. In a given study, carried out by Charis
E. Kubrin, the percentage of rap songs that referenced a violent theme was sixty five (Durgin,
n.d.). Therefore, it is the negative content of rap songs and videos that cause negative
consequences among teens, not the rap music in its self. Just like rap music videos, containing
explicit content, can convey negative messages to teens and cause aggressive behavior (like
proved in the first study), rap lyrics can also cause negative effects on teens—those with themes
of violence, drug abuse, or sexuality. Which are most rap songs out today: “Content analyses
have provided some support for the notion that much of the most popular rap music appears to
contain objectionable lyrics” (Dixon, n.d.). This needs to change. Statistics should be showing
that most of popular rap music appears to contain inspirational themes. Both rap music videos
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and lyrics should start containing constructive messages that could impact teens in a beneficial
manner—that is the only way rap music could become a positive impact on teens.
As well as stating that rap music promotes aggressive behavior among listeners many
other scholars have also claimed that rap music promotes misogyny. Henderson, Pinn, Powell,
Rose, and Watts are among a few examples that have stated that “rap lyrics attempt to objectify,
devalue, or subjugate African American women through insulting and subordinating words”
(Dixon, n.d.). In other words, some of these studies have shown that black women are a target of
rap music and that they are portrayed as simple objects that can be used and disposed of. There
has also been research on the psychological outcomes of rap music. One of the results, found by
Gan, Zillman, and Mitrook in 1997, stated that exposure to rap lyrics containing profound sexual
imagery created negative appraisals of black women among men (Dixon, n.d.). Lyrics such as
those found in the song “I Wish” by Cher Loyd Ft. T.I.:
I'm not sure what kinda fella you like
But I can give you paradise, have it however you like
I'm talking solitaire iced out, ring, watch, necklace
Ain't no talking reckless, girl, I'm certified respected, girl
Yeah, you like to run your mouth, well you're about to learn a lesson, girl
Yeah, you the one but I'll replace you in a second, girl
And I ain't even trying to see you naked, girl
Wait, there I go exaggerate
Clearly carried away, but what I'm saying you could true that
I wanna be wherever you at
So you wishing you could kiss me
Do you really wanna do that, eh?
Make a wish, girl
These lyrics are depicting clear, negative messages of women. The woman is shown that she can
be bought with rings and necklaces. It also shows how women can be “replaced in a second”
and, thus, that they are simple, interchangeable objects. He specifically tells her that if she starts
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to annoy him with her talk then he is going to teach her a lesson by dumping her and getting
another girl. This is clearly promoting misogyny. Not only that, but T.I. is also saying that he is
the only one that decides whether or not the girl can be with him. He tells her that for her to get a
kiss from him she has to “make a wish” even though he knows she likes him. Not only that, but
he is promoting the message that the only thing that matters in a relationship is having sexual
intercourse. It is not just the lyrics that promote these behaviors and thoughts, though. Rap music
videos are also powerful enough to do the same.
Rap music videos need to start being less misogynistic as well. The first two studies
concluded that rap music videos with explicit content can promote harmful behaviors, but rap
music videos depicting violence can also promote misogyny. Susan Buttross, the spokeswoman
for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), as well as the rest of the AAP’s committee,
found out that “75% of music videos involved sexual imagery, and more than half involved
violence -- usually against women” (Kirchheimer, 2003). That is why rap music videos are
conveyed as negative—because 75% of them involve some type of content that indorses drug
abuse or violence. This staggering number is what needs to change and I want to help contribute
to the change by creating rap songs, and in turn, rap music videos that depict positive messages
instead of negative ones.
Due to all of the research above I want to change the way rap music is preserved. That is
why I want to create rap songs with meaningful lyrics not songs that promote violent behavior or
drug and alcohol abuse. All of the studies mentioned above share one thing in common—they all
conclude that rap music affects teens negatively. Thus, it probably cannot be debated that most
rap music has a negative effect on teens. The real question is why rap music has this derogatory
effect on society and what can be done to change it.
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Rap music has an overall negative effect on teens, but only because of its explicit content
both through its lyrics and through its messages conveyed in rap videos. Since 1979 the
“references to illegal drug use in rap music [has] jumped sixfold” (Yang, 2008). Six times as
many references to drugs is one of the reasons why critics and scholars are finding that rap music
has a negative impact on teens. That is why I want to make my words count. I want to go back to
the time when rap used to be a form of storytelling. Through my rap lyrics I want to change the
negative aspects that come with rap music at the same time that I change people’s lives and
inspire them day by day. Instead of creating misogynistic or violent lyrics I will create positive
and inspiring ones.
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References
Dixon, T. (n.d.). Rap music and rap audiences: Controversial themes, psychological effects and
political resistance. Retrieved January 10, 2015, from
http://www.rcgd.isr.umich.edu/prba/perspectives/fall2002/dixon-brooks.pdf
Durgin, R. (n.d.). Rap Music Lyrics and the Construction of Violent Identities: Among
Adolescents. Retrieved February 23, 2015, from
http://cola.unh.edu/sites/cola.unh.edu/files/student-journals/RachelDurgin.pdf
Impact of Music Lyrics and Music Videos on Children and Youth (RE9144). (n.d.). Retrieved
January 15, 2015, from
http://www.public.asu.edu/~dbodman/candv/aap_musiclyrics_videos.pdf
Kirchheimer, S. (2003, March 3). Does Rap Music Put Teens at Risk? Retrieved January 10,
2015, from http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20030303/does-rap-put-teens-at-risk
Wingood, G., DiClemente, R., Bernhardt, J., Harrington, K., Davies, S., Robillard, A., & Hook,
E. (2003, March 1). A Prospective Study of Exposure to Rap Music Videos and African
American Female Adolescents’ Health. Retrieved February 20, 2015, from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447759/
Wood, J. (2004, April 1). Rap Music. Retrieved January 17, 2015, from
http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/HIS135/Events/Rap79/RapMusic.html
Yang, S. (2008, April 1). 04.01.2008 - New study finds glamorization of drugs in rap music
jumped dramatically over two decades. Retrieved January 23, 2015, from
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/04/01_rapmusic.shtml
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