does rap have negative effects on children
Music has changed a lot throughout the course of about a decade. Everything from the sounds of the music, to the styles of the members in the bands has gone through many different fads. Lyricists have found new and unusual ways of making music their own style, and some of those ways have been labeled as controversial. One kind of music that has gotten unfairly labeled as controversial is rap/hip-hop music. The artists who write the music are often labeled as bad people, and also as being detrimental to young listeners. Lately, debate over the content and impact of entertainment has bubbled over into the mainstream as journalists and politicians state what many families have believed for a while: music effects children (Smithouser, 2000, p.3). Music alone however, is not responsible for the negative impacts that it is blamed for today. Environmental factors, in addition to the controversial lyrics, may have a slight effect on how a child acts. In doing research, many critics of rap and hip-hop are of certain ethnic backgrounds. One group that is very involved in the fight against rappers, specifically Eminem, is gay and lesbian clubs. Eminem's use of the word "faggot" is criticized the most.
If rap is going to be censored, or banned, can we really allow television to show sitcoms where people are having pre-marital sex, or killing people? If rap is going to be criticized by people as being a negative impact on our children, then maybe television should be banned as well. As long as the first amendment is kept as part of our rights, which it always will, then there is nothing that can be done about the words and phrases that are said by musical artists. Until music is scientifically proven to cause negative effects on children, nothing can be done to stop, or even censor it. Eminem said it best on his second album when he rapped, "just cuz I say stuff on my record, that doesn't mean that I'm actually gunna do it." I think that all of us "critics" out there should keep in mind that everyone has the right to "say what they want to whoever they want, whenever they want."-Eminem. Kim, R. (2001). Eminem-Bad Rap?. Nation (vol. 272). 4-6. online. EBSCOhost. 7 March 2001. Magazines, such as Spin Magazine defend Eminem, and call him a "brilliant provocateur". They also argue that Marshall Mathers is a "horror show of self-loathing and other-loathing theater, a sick joke that Eminem's fans are on" (Kim pg.5). Bob Herbert of the New York Times took an opportunity to deplore not just Eminem's Lyrics, but also the entire genre of rap. He argued that rap music is infantile, and is nothing but gibberish. yrics...then we have no one to blame but ourselves"(pg.3). We live in a society where when something negative takes place, the parents look to a scapegoat so that they aren't blamed. In this case, all of our adolescent problems are blamed on things such as the media. In a recent interview by MTV (2001), Kurt Loder of MTV news asked Eminem, also known by his real name of Marshall Mathers, about his use of the word "faggot". He responded to Kurt's question by stating, "
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Approximate Word count = 1281
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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