Hip Hop Begets Violence?

            Violence amongst the youth is one of the most prominent social issues that America faces today. There are hundreds of accounts reporting deaths or shootings in prominently black neighborhoods on the news daily. Some people claim that the only way to fix this problem is to find its source. However, something such as violence amongst youth nationwide cannot be traced back to a single source. It is just part of the American way to have someone or something to blame for it, so why not blame one of the most controversial, but most popular, industry in the country: Hip hop.

            I believe that Hip Hop carrying the burden for influencing violence is unfair. Music, in general, affects our mood. Anything from our personalities, lifestyles, moods, or life situations can play a huge role in the way we react to hearing a certain type of music. When you’re sad, listening to a slow song could make you cry. A person listening to an upbeat song could become energetic or happy. One of the things people love about art in general is the way it makes people feel. Attacking rap music because of the way it could make someone feel is unfair.

            A sad person listening to a slow song could make a person cry, but can the slow song be blamed in the sad person was to commit suicide? One of the responsibilities of being a mature human is to control your actions. No, a person cannot help the way they feel, but they do have power to determine how they react to the feeling. Therefore, claiming that violence is young people’s reaction to “violent” lyrics in hip hop songs is invalid. There are more things to consider than just the lyrics alone.

            The question that I kept asking while reading through the material for this module is why aren’t violent video games or movies blamed for violence just as much as rap is? It is easier to control what video games your child plays or what movies they watch than it is to control what music they listen to. Also, no one knows why it is that hip hop’s positive aspects that hip hop portrays aren’t glorified as much as its violence is bashed. I believe that hip hop is attacked for its violence because it is the most bashed industry in the country and it is in Americans’ nature to always have a ‘bad guy’ to blame for the problems that it cannot fix.-by Jerrica Rucker