EXP 102L: How Does Rap Music Effect Teenagers In Today's Social Community

Research Paper First draft
Carl Zheng
Professor Nourse
EXP102L
How does rap music effect teenagers in today’s Social Community
Rap music is one of the most popular style of today’s society. However, rap has or is slowly losing its essence because of the inclusion of sexual content, content depicting people taking drugs, and use of highly offensive language (Acharya, 2015). With the internet making things easily accessible, everyone including teenagers can indeed access such music. The truth is, without proper guidance, this music becomes ingrained in the minds of teenagers and some of them even start admiring the rappers and worst of all their lifestyle. While rap music represents the development of art in the society, it is also harmful to teenagers and helps to propagate delinquent behavior in young people.
Rapping first gained popularity in the U.S. in the 1970s as a kind of street art, especially among African American teenagers (Newman). Gradually, people started paying attention to rap music. How the artists dress also became part of the culture of rap. Typical rap dressing in the past involved big sized clothes, long jeans, and basketball sneakers.
“Hip Hop has had an overwhelming influence on the black community in America, as well as society as a whole. Hip Hop is more than music, Hip Hop is a culture. Over the past three decades, Hip Hop has influenced and uplifted America, speaking up for generations and providing a voice to a group of people trying to deliver a message. (Kathleen Odenthal Romano).” Hip hop music became a culture in the late twentieth century, and this meant a significant social change in the American history had taken place.
Hip Hop is also a voice that speaks about the social and economic problems in the United States. Black artists have used to air their views and also to speak their minds of some of the things happening in the society. Some artists have castigated the government for its unfair treatment as well as to instigate or support protests in the US. As it began, Hip Hop was revolutionary and the US was transformed to a “Hip Hop Nation” in the 90s (Kathleen Odenthal Romano). Teenagers all over the world have warmed up to rap music and some go to the extent of imitating the hip hop artists.
However, despite its popularity and use in numerous courses in the US, critics of Hip Hop music believe “the music is aggressive in nature and promotes social rebellion” (Kathleen Odenthal Romano). A majority of the critics seem to be convinced that rap music negatively impacts the social community. “Members of the hip hop nation form an ‘imagined community’ that is based less on its realization through state formation than on a collective challenge to the consensus logic of U.S. nationalism” (Decker, 54). Additionally, there is the use of offensive language and discriminative lyrics which teenagers can adopt as part of their da...