Is Hip-Hop Killing The Youth?
...buy is dictated by what we "hear" the celebrities are doing. That
is a powerful influence over an individual adult but only imagine what type of
influence this has over an impressionable pre-teen. Due to the fact that hip-hop/rap
music appeals to the thirteen to eighteen year old audiences and the artists
performing come from very similar backgrounds of the listeners, rap music is able to
control the way that youth think. Teens and pre-teens are using their part-time job
paycheck to buy grills (a form of jewelry worn in the mouth) and other types of
jewelry.
The "N" word, which once degraded African Americans, has now become an all too
frequent word used amongst the younger generation and not only by African Americans.
Hispanics and Caucasians greet and refer to each other using the word "nigga" as
well. That comes as no surprise that according to 2005's sound scan report states
that suburban pre-teens brought just as much rap music as urban teens. It was
tolerable when rap music affected fashion. It was tolerable when Will Smith put out
his hit record "Parents Just Don't Understand" in 1989 and it was even tolerable
with the introduction of Lil' Bow Wow in 2000. Now, the new generation is taking the
lyrics of rap music more literally.
Without the youth being able to distinguish fantasy from reality rap music has
turned the youth more violent, utterly disrespectful and it is teaching them that
it's acceptable to have multiple babies' mommas, stand on the block and hustle or
even kill someone over a minor disagreement. It's easy to assume that I dislike rap
music but it's quite the opposite. Growing up my mother wouldn't let me listen to
rap because I discovered it in the era it began to turn violent. However, when I was
old enough to listen to rap music I was amazed at how creative a person could be
with words and music as a result I...
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