On the surface, rap music appears to be a genre of music that celebrates black culture. So why do we find so many people offended by rap music and rappers?
We find that it is common in rap music to use racial slurs and glorify drug use, rape, robbery, and murder. Perhaps the N-word’s use is the most striking use of such words, but the pervasiveness of this word in rap music is striking.
Like many other people who listen to rap music, I have decided to stay clear of listening to rap music to avoid getting offended. However, as much as I avoid rap music, I would be remiss because I have not explored the state of rap music and the culture surrounding it.
When we analyze rap music, the first word that comes to mind is misogyny. It is not hard to find lyrics in rap songs that discuss women’s victimization, the objectification of women, and the abuse of women.
This is something that we have become acutely aware of in the wake of the Me Too Movement. That said, the abuse of women is not the only thing that stands out about rap music.
Aside from the use of misogynistic lyrics, rap music is a tool used to glorify the use of violence. I’ve written about the story of rapper Yo Gotti in the past.
Yo Gotti was charged with armed robbery, and after that, he fled to Memphis, Tennessee. Yo Gotti then allegedly stole a car from a man, shot at him, and then shot at police officers in a Memphis suburb.
He was found guilty of felony murder and three other charges and was sentenced to 29 years in prison. This was only after he rapped about shooting the man and then stealing his car.
This is a widespread occurrence in the rap music genre. It’s quite telling that a rapper would glorify something that they had to go to prison for doing.
Why is rap music a negative influence?
When we look at rap music and the rap culture surrounding it, it appears that rap is the exact opposite of what we celebrate in our society. It appears that rappers glorify the glorification of rape, robbery, and murder, while most of us try to prevent these things’ glorification.
As I’ve written about before, I try to limit myself from using misogynistic words, but I cannot do that in every instance of rap music, and neither can you. Because rap music has always been associated with black people, we must ask ourselves if it is appropriate for rap music to be a part of our society.
I find that rap music to be so objectionable that I have turned it off during times that it has been on in my house. This happens when I am listening to the rap station on the radio.
When I hear rap music on the radio, I immediately feel uncomfortable. I am not interested in listening to the negative language and themes that rap music has.
So, how is this even fair? We know that rap music glorifies the very things that we find to be abhorrent in our society.
We are all subjected to rap music somehow, but we should not be subjected to rap music that promotes murder, rape, and violence.
Why is rap music used in our society?
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular rap songs in the last few years. Some people might say that this is not the article’s point, but I feel that it is essential.
Some songs in the rap genre contain lyrics that have the purpose of glorifying the subject of the song. Perhaps, the song in question is about the song’s subject, but that is not what the song is about.
The song is about the rapper, as the subject is often depicted as some superhuman. In other words, the subject of the song is the subject, but the rapper is only seen as the subject.
In other words, the rapper is the star, and everyone else is a supporting character. As a result, rap music is used to glorify violent crime or to appeal to children.
In response to that, rap songs are about the subject of the song and are not about the subject in a glorifying manner. For example, here are two rap songs that have nothing to do with any subject of violence.
One of the songs in this list, “Just What I Am,” was written by Cardi B and featured her as the main singer. The song is about coming to accept who you are as a person. I believe that the song is a very positive message.
The second song is a song by Future. It is a song about not selling drugs and is primarily an educational song.
You can see that there is no glorification of crime in the song.
Many rap songs are about glorifying crime, but I know that many rap songs are not about glorifying crime. People might be looking for the most extreme examples when they look for rap music.
They might say, “Rapper X glorifies raping, robbing, or killing people.” I challenge that assertion by pointing to the following rap songs.
Downfall of rap
Rappers use the words ‘nigga’ and ‘ho’ to express the meaning of their songs. They use these words to represent blackness, sex, and illicit sexual activities.
These words are displayed as a sign of toughness. They used to be used in a manner that also illustrated ‘gangsters’ to symbolize masculinity and control.
But these rappers are now using these words as the baseline of the everyday vocabulary rather than gangsters. Not only do they use these words as adjectives to show their strength and masculinity, they now use them in the same way that our children use words like ‘cool’ and ‘awesome.’
Rap music has been co-opted by the mainstream and is now almost accepted by all adults in our culture. The problem is that the new generation of rappers uses these words in a way that is similar to how our children use ‘cool’ and ‘awesome.’
Rap music is now dominating the mainstream. This is a problem because we cannot have language that adults accept that is now expected to be used by society.
Because rap is being used to represent more than just the negative, it also replaces positive thinking and behavior.
Using words like ‘nigga’ and ‘ho’ is also used to represent African Americans’ criminality. However, these words were used long before the black cultural revolution, and it was the entertainment industry that destroyed the power and effectiveness of these words.
A couple of years ago, I attended a comedy event, and it was full of comedians who had got rid of their swearing, which was seen as a negative element. They were being accepted in society, and I found it hilarious, but many of the audience did not think it was funny.
In my opinion, it is ironic that the comedians wanted to remove swearing from their actions when their audience was not prepared to accept the offensive use of the words ‘nigga’ and ‘ho.’ These words have a long and varied history. The way that they have been replaced should also be highlighted.
I am not against these words; I am against using these words as a tool of communication. Many people agree that their use is damaging, but they still use them because they are found in many music albums.
The negative use of language is not only damaging to black people. The words ‘nigga’ and ‘ho’ are equally offensive to white people, which is where the battle lines have been drawn.
Rap is being used to act as a weapon against white people.
Rappers record gang songs
Rap music is used to promote and glorify gang culture. All too often, rap music is about people who are associated with a gang.
This might inclhip-hop hop artists associated with a certain gang or gang members who might have several connections. In any event, the rap music that these people sing is about the culture that they are a part of.
I feel that there should be a separation between the music artists choose to create and the artists themselves. I believe that some rappers are true to their rap culture.
