Is rap a negative influence?, an opinion piece by Sanvi G

 Is rap a negative influence?

By: Sanvi Gangisetti

It’s no surprise that rap has grown to be one of the most popular types of music nowadays. Originating in African American communities in New York City, rap rose to fame because of its powerful lyrics. Rap’s lyrics mainly strive to bring families together and maintain an optimistic mood. 

These days, many popular artists such as Drake, Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, and Lil Uzi Vert have risen to fame because of their catchy songs and meaningful lyrics. Rap is also one of the most diverse genres, which makes it no surprise that it has one of the biggest fandoms out there. 

Though this may be the case, rap has also brought about a bout of criticism. Many adults state that rap emphasizes violence and oversexualizes women. Certain rappers have lyrics that involve doing illegal things. Some argue that rap is causing the kids of our generation to be exposed to the atrocities of the world at a younger age. Though many people believe this, I personally do not think this to be the case. I believe that people that say such things fail to fully grasp the meaning behind the lyrics. At the end of the day, it’s the responsibility of all of us as individuals to think about what rap means to us, as well as the type of influence it is. 

So what is it that caused rap and rappers to get such a bad reputation? People that say that young people are being affected negatively by rap aren’t entirely wrong. According to blog.gitnux.com, “The FBI reported a link between gangs and rap music in the 1990s, with gangsta rap lyrics promoting violence and anti-establishment attitudes.” Gangs are the definition of violence, with their members often going around and disrupting the decorum of various public establishments. 

These gangs have been likely influenced by rap music, leading further to the negative conceptions about the genre. Though not a sweet one, the truth of the matter is that rap contains many lyrics that lead to violence, causing the general public to despise the creators. 

These feelings of hostility have been around for a while. A lot of rappers have had to endure criticism from the general public, though most rappers themselves aren’t bad people. A key example of this is when Michelle Obama, the first African American First Lady of the United States, was hosting an event in 2011 to celebrate poetry and chose to have a rapper at the ceremony. Common, the rapper she chose, endured many insults, with much of the audience screaming things like “thug” and saying that he “didn’t deserve a place on the bill,” according to greatergood.berkeley.edu.

On top of this, there are quite a few scenarios in which rappers have been seen displaying negative behavior. For example, rappers Gunna and Young Thug “were indicted on charges of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), as well as a number of other gang, drug, and firearm-related charges,” according to americanbar.org. This behavior only contributes to the misconception that rappers are violent people, and that their lyrics cause people to do violent things. 

Though this may be the case, there are a multitude of rappers that do not convey violent meanings behind their songs. Even among those that do, more times than not, rappers are just reporting social injustices. Though their lyrics may seem warped, the meaning behind them are not meant to be taken as inspiration to commit crimes. Many rappers, an example being Nicki Minaj are living their best lives, surrounded by loved ones. Nicki is a very sweet person who definitely does not have destructive intentions behind her songs. Rappers also display more examples of their true personality and beliefs on podcasts and other methods of communication with their fans.

All this aside, the evidence that people that listen to rap are generally more violent isn’t supported by substantial evidence. Aside from a slim majority of people, many remain unaffected by rap. In retaliation against claims that rap alone is a negative influence, singer and songwriter Tory Lanez is currently in jail for shooting popular rapper Meghan Thee Stallion in the foot. Though he’s not a rapper, Tory has engaged in violent behaviors. If our society decides to shun rap saying that the people involved are violent, then we’d have to do that for all the genres of music. One musical group should not be defined by a few people who cannot abide by the law.

If provided with more concrete evidence, then the claims made by anti-rap people would be more effective, but as things stand now, that isn’t the case. Rap as a genre is not responsible nor is it to be held accountable for any sort of violence. Though many rappers are involved in violent situations, artists from most genres have had incidents of some sort of violence. It’s up to us as a society to decide where we stand on this matter.