Why has rap music received such a bad rap? Is this because of explicit language and content? Do parents feel that their children will become violent and self-centered because a song they like suggested it?

Rap music has been branded with the idea that rap lyrics lead to violence and drug use within its listeners, but I, among many, have to disagree. If someone were to analyze the lyrics to a song, they would find at least one of the following themes. There are the “self-important- I’m better than you”, “the threat”, and “the indulgent celebrity who is focused on possessions”. These themes follow the formula of “violence, drugs, and sex sells" as Macklemore, a Seattle-born rapper, states in one of his tracks. Rappers often discuss topics such as violence, drugs, and sex as a selling point for their music because that is the normal themes within rap music, but does this wear off onto its listeners? The Colorado Springs Police Department believes so as they have recently started to ban “gangsta rap” music from clubs around the city because they think that “‘When you have music that says it’s basically O.K. to treat women poorly, to steal things and to confront and shoot police officers… you’ll attract a small percentage of the population that wants to lead the thug life’”, such as gang members, which causes violent scenes at these clubs. There is no connection between the urge to create violence and someone’s taste in music. Rapper B. Serious clearly states that “‘when two cowboys got into an argument at a saloon, went outside and had a draw, nobody blamed the music that was playing at the saloon’”.

Studies on the connection between the two have shown have raised the question of “Which comes first, the behavior or the attraction?” Research shows that there is a connection between the preference in rap music and behavioral outbreaks, showing that issues with drug or alcohol use, arrests and sexual behavior, often begin before the listener begin an interest for this type of music. In fact, it suggests that teens that have these issues are just more “attracted” to this type of music and prefer to listen to it. The lyric within rap music don’t cause its listeners to use drugs and be more violent because it is often a more deeply-rooted issue. Rap music is used as a scapegoat for drug use and violence within a community, and it has received a bad reputation for its themes rather than for the art that it is.