Rap Music's Effect on Youth Since the 1990s, Rap and Hip-Hop music has been an influential category of today’s music industry. Rap music has changed the culture of the teenage youth, influencing fashion, the way teens speak and the activities teenagers partake in. Rap and Hip-Hop have had a negative connotation since the 1990s continuing that trend through today. Due to the negative influence on the teenage society with glorifying drug use, degrading sexual content and violent lyrical content, rap artist should not be able to produce music with explicit content. Studies have shown that degrading sexual lyrical content has caused an increase in early teenage sex (NBC Health 2013) . Rap lyrics are known to promote
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"This is an alarming trend, as rap artists are role models for the nation's youth, especially in urban areas. Many of these young people are already at risk and need to get positive messages from the media" (Herd 2014). With lyrics promoting the use of cocaine, cough medicine abuse and weed, teens having struck interest in trying what their “role models” are encouraging (Herd 2014). Herd also suggested that references to codeine cough medicine in southwestern groups, known as “Screw-Music” could be the reason for Houston teens overdosing on this substance. Drugs such as marijuana have been promoted in the rap industry since the start, making it the third most used drug in the United States (National Institute on Drug Abuse 2014). Rappers such as Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa and Lil Wayne promote the use of the drug, often their personas are linked with the substance. Marijuana usage of teens has increased by eighty percent since 2012, which could be a direct factor of the promotion of this drug in the media. 52 million teens are known in the United States for using drugs recreationally, with this number increasing, rap artist should not be able to promote drug usage in their music. (National Institute on Drug Abuse, …show more content…
With lyrics so greatly expressing themselves in ways that teens can relate to. Rap music could allow teens to feel free and powerful. Rap music could promote positive thoughts, allowing teens to embrace their teenage culture. A article by the Wall Street Journal, states that “rap music is a religion for the troubled teens.” Although, rap music is proven to make teens more troubled some argue that the teens who are already troubled can relate. While some believe that teens use this music to power others. They are also known to use this music to destroy others because of the promotion of violence. Some also believe that rap music promotes “rhyme scheme and simile which can be used to teach the youth.” While these allegations, could be true most of the rhyme schemes promote negative
"This is an alarming trend, as rap artists are role models for the nation's youth, especially in urban areas. Many of these young people are already at risk and need to get positive messages from the media" (Herd 2014). With lyrics promoting the use of cocaine, cough medicine abuse and weed, teens having struck interest in trying what their “role models” are encouraging (Herd 2014). Herd also suggested that references to codeine cough medicine in southwestern groups, known as “Screw-Music” could be the reason for Houston teens overdosing on this substance. Drugs such as marijuana have been promoted in the rap industry since the start, making it the third most used drug in the United States (National Institute on Drug Abuse 2014). Rappers such as Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa and Lil Wayne promote the use of the drug, often their personas are linked with the substance. Marijuana usage of teens has increased by eighty percent since 2012, which could be a direct factor of the promotion of this drug in the media. 52 million teens are known in the United States for using drugs recreationally, with this number increasing, rap artist should not be able to promote drug usage in their music. (National Institute on Drug Abuse, …show more content…
With lyrics so greatly expressing themselves in ways that teens can relate to. Rap music could allow teens to feel free and powerful. Rap music could promote positive thoughts, allowing teens to embrace their teenage culture. A article by the Wall Street Journal, states that “rap music is a religion for the troubled teens.” Although, rap music is proven to make teens more troubled some argue that the teens who are already troubled can relate. While some believe that teens use this music to power others. They are also known to use this music to destroy others because of the promotion of violence. Some also believe that rap music promotes “rhyme scheme and simile which can be used to teach the youth.” While these allegations, could be true most of the rhyme schemes promote negative