Hip-hop artists like Drake, Kanye West and so many more are dominating pop culture. In 2018 alone, almost 25% of all music consumed in the U.S. was rap, making it the most popular genre in the states.
Not many people are happy about the growth of hip-hop and its impacts on children worldwide. A study done by the National Center for Biotechnology Information showed that exposure to explicit music may influence their actions or behavior in a negative way.
Although there have been many studies that have done extensive research on the topic, there is truly no way to know the direct affect rap music has on the youth. Although explicit lyrics may promote negative actions, each listener may consume the lyrics in a different way.
Rap music is expanding, there are more and more rap artists releasing music every day. A lot of people tend to claim that rap music mainly talks about violence and drug use. While there are plenty of songs or artists that choose to talk about that in their music, there are also many subgenres of rap that bring many different issues to light within the music.
Massive artists like Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z, J. Cole and many others create songs that are a part of the “conscious rap” subgenre. Albums like Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” and Joey Bada$$’s “All-Amerikkkan Bada$$” are very conscious and politically aware records, that shed light on many modern-day problems with police brutality, racial profiling and discrimination among many other issues.
Artists of that caliber go far beyond what many people perceive them as. A PBS Story featured rappers explaining how their creation of rap music, and rap music as a whole, is just a way of expressing themselves and their feelings.
Since rap music contains such a wide variety of subgenres, it’s unfair to put a label on the entire genre based on popular tracks that contain explicit and violent lyrics. In reality, rap music, based on the subgenre, can contain all different kinds of content.
For decades now, hip-hop has been a medium where artists can express themselves and create music that listeners can relate to. Just like pop or rock music, rap is a creative outlet for artists and listeners alike.
Studies that show the effects of rap music on the youth fail to show the direct correlation between the two very well. Although there are songs that promote violence and drug use, many songs and artists provide much more complexity than that.
Rap music has evolved a lot since its debut, and it will continue to do so for years to come. Once people take a look past the surface of songs with negative and explicit lyrics, they will find an abundance of tracks that speak on so much more.
Rap music is an outlet that lets artists express themselves in a very raw way. With that, many artists choose to talk about issues in their lives and on a broader scale as well. Just because there’s an F-bomb here and there doesn’t necessarily mean the song can’t provide a positive impact on the listeners.
There is a difference between explicit lyrics and lyrics that are blatantly negative or demeaning. Looking beyond the surface will help the listener separate the two and see the true complexity that is the rap genre as a whole.
Joey Perkins is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Joey? Tweet him @JoeyPerkins_.
