Has Rap Music Gone Too Far?

First and foremost, lyrics are an important part of a song. It’s what we sing along to, something we can relate to, maybe even something that encourages us to improve ourselves as individuals.

Every song has a message, and as a big music listener, I have interpreted a variety of negatives and positives from them. The message of a song can be very influencing and may lead listeners to do what is proposed in the song, whether it’s good or bad.

Modern rap has an image of being extremely explicit and inappropriate for the younger generation of this world’s people. It is said that rap is the cause for teenage pregnancy, encouraging violence, addictions to harmful substances, and many other negative things that occur in the U.S.

Another thing rap is thought to do is degrade women to the value of toys that are used and thrown away. For example, the song Tip Drill by Nelly has been pointed out often for the degrading of women.

‘I said it must be ya ass cause it ain't ya face’ is the first line of the hook in Tip Drill and has caught a lot of attention from both sides of the conflict it presents. What also draws attention to the topic is that in the uncut version of the music video, a credit card is seen being swiped between a woman’s crack.

A more recent song that also has lyrics that may be a little too sexual is Lollipop by Lil’ Wayne. We all know that sex sells, but should it be openly presented to the youth in encouraging ways? Some of the lyrics for the song include:

‘But man I ain't never
Seen an ass like hers
That pus* y in my mouth
Had me loss for words
Told her to back it up
Like berp berp
And I made that ass jump
Like jerp jerp’

Rap is also described as retards attempting poetry (which I’ve seen a lot on people’s profiles). We also have to remember that artists are expressing themselves and there are other types of rap like old school that have meaningful lyrics. An example of a very strong song (that almost made me cry because it was so sweet) is Dear Momma by 2pac.

Even though music can be influential, people also have a choice at what they want to do in life. No one goes and forces them to make decisions that are going to impact their life in a bad way. People choose how they want to apply their music to their life and if they want to follow in the footsteps of their rap idol.

What do you think about modern rap and its lyrics? Is it really the artists fault or the person who chooses to do something wrong? Is rap being wrongly blamed?