Music

            Music is way to express yourself. A song can tell a story. It seems that everyone has a deep connection to music. And with there being so many different kinds of genres of music, it can be used as a connection between people. A major way music united a group of people was in the mid to late 20^th century with rap music.

With a division in race in our society today, we can almost see a division in the music people listen to. Primarily Black people will listen to rap music and rap music is primarily produced by Black people. Also white people tend to listen to country music which is usually made by white people. Of course there are always exceptions to this just like with anything else. We see Darius Rucker singing country music and we see Eminem making rap music. There are also many other kinds of genres of music that people listen to but looking at the stereotype this is what usually happens.

In the early days of hip-hop music it was used almost like a rally call to unite the Black people against the oppressing whites. This was in the time just after the civil rights movement. During this time there groups like N.W.A. or Public Enemy singing songs like “F*** Tha Police” and “Fight the Power”. These songs united the Black people. But when we compare this rap music to the rap music of today, it is completely different.

Rap music has changed over time. The rap music of today talks about having sex, smoking weed and getting drunk. Because the theme of the music has changed, it is not a rallying point for Blacks. All the music is talking about today is money and fame and sex. And some are using the messages these raps songs are portraying to claim that rap is having a negative impact on the youth of America.

With the rise in gangs and gang membership, there are some who claim that rap music is the cause of the violence. They say that because the lyrics talk about acting violently or doing drugs or other things, it is influencing the youth of our society to do bad things. With songs like “Young, Wild and Free” or “Smack That”, it would be easy to see how people would say that these songs are having a negative impact on the youth. But I say that these songs and the lyrics in them are just a way that the artist expresses his or her self. If a person does not agree with the lyrics or does not want their kids to listen to the music then they don’t have to listen. Have you ever heard of free will? People may say that these songs have a subliminal effect on the kids that listen but I say that each person has a choice to make for themselves. And if parents do not want their kids acting bad maybe they should have more control over their children.

   To say that rap music alone has a negative effect on people is to say something very ignorant. There are so many variables that would go into why a person makes a certain decision in their life. Some variables are where the person grows up, race, whether or not the parents are around, where they go to school, or what kind of friends they spend time with. All of these factors play a role in how a person turns out. And it’s not just rap music with suggestive lyrics. Many genres are like that. For example one genre could be heavy metal; another could be pop or even country. Some examples of songs are “Hope you get lonely tonight” by Cole Swindell that talks about hooking up even though they aren’t dating. Other songs that could be suggestive by lyrics are “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield, “Talk Dirty to me” by Poison, or “Metal Health” by Quiet Riot.

Music is not bad. It’s how people interpret it and the choices people choose to make. Musicians do not intend to have bad things happen because of their music. They simply want to express their thoughts in musical form. In my opinion to say that it is rap music that cause people to act bad is an ignorant thing to say.