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<h4 class="dechead">On One Hand: Rap Music Reflects Reality
Rap music reflects the reality of a violent society and rap artists are merely "telling it like it is," according to a team of criminologists in Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Crime and Criminology. Rap music is the voice of resistance, says Theresa A. Martinez in an issue of Journal of Law & Family Studies. Rap artists are using their cultural resources to speak out against and draw attention to a violent society.
On the Other: Rap Music Inspires Violence
Some experts contend that rap music glorifies violence and desensitizes impressionable listeners, leading them to commit violent acts of their own. According to a study conducted by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, young people who listen to rap music are more likely to have problems with violence.
Bottom Line
Although many rap songs feature violent imagery in their lyrics, rap music is not directly responsible for violent crime, but is a result of and reaction to a pre-existing culture of violence.
Source:
University of Utah: Images of the "Socially Disinherited": Inner-City Youth in Rap Music
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation: Rap listeners prone to alcohol, drugs, violence
More Information:
London Evening Standard: Violent Rap Lyrics Fuel Knife Crime
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