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| (Public Domain, 2000) |
As
hip-hop has found commercial success, thus moving into mainstream society, it
has become a cultural hot topic to discuss the negative effects it has
on youth. With the emergence of “gangsta rap” specifically, hip-hop has become
the lens of which most controversy of the promotion of illicit-drug use, alcohol,
gang involvement, and overall delinquency is centered. Hip-hop is often used as
an umbrella term to encompass a variety of rap sub-genres. For the purposes of this
analysis, Miranda and Claes’ (2003) four different rap genres - “American rap,
French rap, hip hop/soul, and gangsta/hardcore rap” (p. 113) - are the
sub-genres which we will be focusing on. I hypothesize that the discussion of
delinquency in hip-hop does not have adverse effects on the adolescents who
consume it.
Characteristic
of hip-hop are its melodic beats that are coupled with lyrics ranging from
discussions on money (American rap), to gang culture (gangsta rap), the “artistic
expressions of youths in underprivileged urban areas…what is pejoratively
called “ghettos” in America (Miranda & Claes, 2003, p. 115) (French rap),
to partying and dancing (hip-hop/soul). While
lyrics are significant in the genre, the level of significance attributed to
lyrics plays an integral role in the engagement of delinquency by youths.
Students at Westwood Middle School in Northern California “understood, for
example, that they could be entertained by rap music and its representations
and dance to its driving beats without adopting the values and behaviors so
explicit in some of its genres” (Mahiri & Conner, 2003, p. 135). Lil Wayne’s
“Lil One” promotes selling drugs throughout the duration of the song, but it is
understood by the youth that selling drugs is not socially acceptable. It
should also be noted that “juvenile delinquents considered their musical
preference as a mirror of their reality, rather than as a cause of their
deviant behavior” (Miranda & Claes, 2003, p. 114).
When
controlling the importance given to lyrics in Miranda & Claes’ study (2003),
they found “only antisocial rap genres (French rap and gangsta/hardcore rap)
would maintain positive links to deviant behaviors, whereas the more prosocial
rap genre (hip hop/soul) would maintain negative links to deviant behavior…Results
indicate that rap music as a whole is significantly linked to deviant behaviors”
(p.119). Songs such as N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton” which feature the
lyrics “When I’m called off, I got a sawed off, Squeeze the trigger, and bodies
are hauled off” (Straight Outta Compton, 1990, track 9), boasting guns, short
temperedness, and murder, are likely to be consumed and internalized by youth
who have already been predisposed to this form of delinquency as a means to
reinforce their identity.
Ultimately,
it is clear that there is a significant correlation between hip-hop and the engagement
of youths in delinquent behavior, however, these findings are of limited scope and
are dominantly found in the forms of hip-hop that are rooted in rebellion
to society and are characteristic as being anti-social in content. Youth who
consume the music attribute different levels of significance to lyrics and
often choose sub-genres that reflect their living circumstances. Much is left
to be found as American society’s culture is rooted in violence and other
socialization factors were not considered as constituents in delinquent
behavior.
Work
Cited
Mahiri, J., Conner, E. (2003).
Black Youth Violence Has a Bad Rap. Journal
Of Social Issues, 59(1), 121-140. Retrieved from http://www.ebscohost.com
Miranda, D., & Claes, M.
(2004). Rap Music Genres and Deviant Behaviors in French-Canadian Adolescents. Journal Of Youth & Adolescence,
33(2), 113-122. Retrieved from http://www.ebscohost.com
Public Domain (Photograph). (2000, December
31). Parental Advisory Warning Label [digital
image]. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parental_Advisory#
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