by Cory Atkins
Violence and music in general have always been synonymous, but it tends to be more significant in Hip Hop due to the very nature of its listeners. With most artists being of African decent, and its listen of the same culture, their lyrics tend to mesh with the lifestyle of Blacks. With this idea in mind, one would easily say that music has a profound effect on the psychosis of Blacks, who have been deemed by history to have the nature of violence. As it has been noted time and again, it is up to the listener whether or not music influences his or her decision-making and actions. While I agree fully with this statement, I believe that there is a factor that is often over looked in this instance that gives rise to the violent nature of Hip Hop listeners, not just Blacks in general. This factor is weak-mindedness. Too often, weak-minded individuals are quick to be reactive to music. For instance, if you have a child who listens to nothing but ‘gangsta rap’, where the only thing referenced is shooting, beating, robbing, raping and other negative images, then once some drastic occurrence happens in the child’s life and these ideas have been festering in his or her mind, they act on what they know and that’s negative behavior. It does not take much for something like this happen because we se almost on a daily basis, especially in Memphis. So in order for us to move past the violence of music, we need not look only to the artists but a way to improve upon the mentality that the newer generations have. I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine the other day and we were talking about how many kids nowadays think that they are tough. But in reality they are not. He made a statement along the lines of ‘the new generation of individuals have no image to call their own. What they truly want and need is guidance and foundation. There once was a time when if you fought someone, you did not have to look over your shoulder and be cautious of your life because you knew it was over. But now, it’s like once you end the fight and God forbid you win and humiliate them, now you have a target on your back.’ This made me think of how with the evolution of music and generations, it’s less about letting go and moving on but more about revenge and retribution. Where this disconnect occurred in music and society, I do not know, but I do know that we need to bring more positivity in music and communities and stop promoting what music labels want to sell. Buying the music does not mean that you’re necessarily supporting the artist but it does mean that you are supporting the image and idea that they are trying to portray.
The authors assertion that somehow the psyche of the African American is inherently weak and influenced by hip hop is absurd. Hip hop is more a music and culture of a generation than a race. Though hip hop is predominately influenced by African Americans, and owes a great deal of it's roots to African culture, it has been influenced and molded by other cultural heritages as well. The notion that a black person cannot control themselves as it relates to hip hop is not only insulting, but naive. Yes, ignorant people use violence to solve problems, both social and economic, so perhaps the problem is not the music they listen to, but the education they receive. The fact that hip hop music was born of the ghetto and remains a dominate cultural force there doesn't not somehow make it responsible for all of the ills there. It is in fact those very same ills that birthed hip hop. So this begs the question How can hip hop be the son and the father of violence? The truth is that any excuse to not face their responsibility to the poor and ignorant will do for the dominant society. Any thing to say, hey that thing is what did it not our laws and economic exclusion, oh no.
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