As a audiophile, I listen to recorded music most of every day. The type of music I like least is opera. Not too far behind is rap music. I do have a few dozen rap CDs, and the wife once attended an Eminem concert. Although I have no idea why. One of my top 20 songs, of about 30,000 songs in my collection is the rap "Dear Mama", by 2PAC. Another rap song in my Top 50 is "Lose Yourself" by Eminem, which he performed at the Super Bowl. My wife woke me up when that song began! I have two 70 minute CDRs of my favorite rap songs, which I don't listen to often. Not all rap music is bad. Not hearing all the words helps, because the rhythms can be fun. But as a genre, rap is pretty bad -- far downhill from the wonderful songs by Black artists at Motown in the 1960s and 1970s.
"Approximately five seconds after the Super Bowl halftime show began last Sunday, debate erupted on Twitter over rappers and hip-hop music, and their supposed deleterious impact on the black community.
The conversation among conservatives, in particular, was reminiscent of the age-old discussion over the value – or lack thereof – of rap music.
Dr. Carol Swain chimed in, intimating that rappers have not done much for black lives.
She tweeted:
I must have missed something last night as I watched the halftime show many on the right and left seem to think was superb.
... I must have missed something last night as I watched the halftime show many on the right and left seem to think was superb. Please help me out by listing all the great things rappers have done to improve the quality of black lives in America?
#HalfTimeShow
— Dr. Carol M. Swain
(@carolmswain)
February 14, 2022
Conservative political commentator Adrian Norman responded with a thread listing examples of hip-hop artists who are using their wealth specifically to improve conditions in the black community:
Dre donated $70M for a new degree program at USC that blends business, marketing, prod. dev., and design. 50 Cent has a foundation that does food & clothing drives, along w/ community work. He also does lifesaving water projects in Africa (1/6)
https://t.co/PAsEq3sNvw
— Adrian Norman
(@AdrianNormanDC)
February 14, 2022
... Honest question @JeffOnTheRight, is there any amount of $$ that would make you publicly degrade (through lyrics and imagery) the image of you children, cousins, Queen, or community? If not, why do we co-sign for others what we don’t practice ourselves?
Honest question @JeffOnTheRight, is there any amount of $$ that would make you publicly degrade (through lyrics and imagery) the image of you children, cousins, Queen, or community? If not, why do we co-sign for others what we don’t practice ourselves?
https://t.co/NqLbvDQlhU
— Delano Squires
(@DelanoSquires)
February 14, 2022
Many, regardless of political affiliation, have pointed the finger at hip-hop music when discussing issues like gang violence and drug dealing in inner city communities.
Specifically, they cite the type of “gangsta rap,” pioneered by artists like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and others who performed at the Super Bowl, as prime culprits inspiring “black-on-black” violence.
Of course, nobody is arguing that rap music is the sole cause of these problems.
But, people have often referred to it as one of the main drivers of gang activity in the inner city.
The debate is decades old.
But, are we looking at rap music in its proper context?
The vast majority of black Americans who listen to rap are not involved in gang activity.
A huge chunk of hip-hop fans are white.
Yet, we do not see a proliferation of gang or drug-related violence breaking out in the suburbs.
Even further, we can take a look at an interesting statistic that might provide some perspective: Suicides.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report in 2017 noting disparities in suicides between whites and minorities.
It revealed the suicide rate for white Americans was 19 per 100,000 people.
For Hispanics and Asians, it was 7.1.
For blacks, the rate was 6.6.
This means white Americans commit suicide at more than double that of minorities.
Yet, we do not see any major discussions on the influence of rock, grunge, punk, alternative, emo, and other such genres.
As a fan of all of these musical styles – along with hip-hop – I can tell you a lot of these musicians create some of the most depressing music you will ever hear and has been consumed by millions of white Americans.
Should we assume, then, that this music is driving suicides?
(Recently create a CDR compilation of happy songs from y collection of 2,000 CDs, i found there were few happy songs after the 1960s. Ye Editor)
Of course not.
So, what is the real issue at play here?
I would suggest it is environment that is the real culprit.
On my podcast, I discussed the issue with King Randall, founder of “The X For Boys,” an organization dedicated to lifting up black children in Albany, Georgia.
Through his program, he mentors young, disadvantaged black boys and provides a productive environment to prepare them for adult life.
Randall told me the reason he started his organization is “because a lot of their issues are mainly their environment that they’re in.
So we can take them out of those environments where they’re committing crimes, et cetera, or just being around the wrong crowd, we could have a significant decrease in the crime rate for boys ages 11 to 17.”
As a black man, I never figured rap music played much of a role in the problems many of us face.
This is not to say there aren’t valid criticisms of much of the rap music that has been produced.
Much of it is demeaning to black women, especially.
There are artists who glorify bad behavior.
As a former musician, I know music is an incredibly powerful force. But I do not believe the music alone has the power to motivate a person to commit a violent crime.
As my good friend Darvio “The Kingpin” Morrow said:
It’s the blanket statements.
Like “ALL of rap is bad.”
“There’s not 1 redeeming value
of hip hop at all”. That’s what it sounds
like ppl are saying. I could be wrong.
But it’s like “all of your problems
would go away if u pulled up your pants
& only listened to Johnny Mathis” lol
— Darvio Morrow
(@DTheKingpin)
February 15, 2022
Morrow also pointed out that it is the issues facing the black community that spawned the music, not the other way around.
Many of the songs produced by these artists are drawing attention to these issues, not glorifying them.
My position is that the environment – created largely by so-called progressive policy – breeds far more criminality than hip-hop.
If rap music plays any role in this, it is the possibility that it could augment the negative influence of the environment.
If a black person is raised in Beverly Hills, they are far less likely to experience or become involved in gang activity.
The same could be said of whites and suicides.
Rock music does not cause someone to take their own life.
But, it could magnify the environmental or mental health issues that are already present.
The reality is that the vast majority of those who listen to Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” are not going to consider suicide.
If this is the case, the fixation on hip-hop is more of a distraction than an avenue through which we can develop authentic solutions.
If we truly wish to address these problems, perhaps it makes more sense to focus on the real issues instead of blaming a genre of music."
