If Rap Didn't Exist, Would There Be Less Crime?

I think black culture has been adversely affected by rap. This 'music', and more importantly, the lyrics has had a significantly negative impact on society. What do you think?

 

Have you ever listened to Rock lyrics or Johnny Cash?

If poverty didn't exist, there would be less crime. Rap pulls the poor out of poverty.

 

I don't think so. While I think rap is not very creative, it does allow individuals to.. well.. express their individuality. An example would be rock music being a powerful force in destroying Soviet Russia.

Now, if you're asking if there were less rap about crime, that's a different question but I think the answer is still no. If there were fewer violent video games, would there be less violence? I doubt it.

Personally, I enjoy causing mayhem in Grand Theft Auto, but I don't do so in real life.

 

Was this supposed to be a serious question?

 

I'm mixed on this subject. Art depicts life. So if the things rap talked about didn't exist prior to rap, it would have never been in a rap song. This is a fact. Gangs, robberies, drugs, have been realities of minority culture in America long before rap ever came onto the scene.

However, one who grew up in the 80's and 90's can't say with a straight face that gangster rap, which must be stressed as there IS different types, severely effected young whites in a negative way. Most came out of those decades never being more than a "wanna-be", but one must be a wanna-be in anything before they become the real deal, and a large chunk of white America crossed the line and will pay for it for life.

Black and white Americans all knew it was a joke because whites, for the most part, had options the minorities didn't have and were choosing to live that lifestyle. That in itself proves minorities have a rougher time at things in this nation.

But on the other side of the coin, whites for the 1st time in America were starting to live under the same conditions as minorities(single moms, worthless fathers, America growing more nepotistic and less true capitalist for all), so one could also conclude that gangster rap can't be blamed because under the right circumstance one isn't susceptible to the lyrics, regardless of race. America for a long time, for lack of better words was whitatistic, where as long as you were white you had a chance. Equal rights became more about everyone living in crap than everyone becoming middle class, and of course young whites not related to the right people took to rap like gasoline to fire.

All of this leaves out the subject of women. Whether it is politically correct to say it or not, men of all races learn at an early age that women love bad boys. The good guy gets played while the jerk to the girl gets laid. Gangster rap was the only type of music to stress this fact, and it gave it more substance, or made it more "real" to the young man listening.

In summation, I grew up right in this time frame. I know if any form of media is to blame for the gangsters that sprouted up everywhere in America during the late 80's and early 90's, it would be the movie "colors". After "colors" came out, crip and blood sets sprouted in every suburb and rural community clear across America. No one knew they existed before that unless you lived in L.A. Gangster rap was merely the hymns of the gangster church, "colors" was the baptism.

 

Chicken or egg?

It's irrelevant at this point. The fact remains that rap, for the most part, is a (*)(*)(*)(*)ty influence and is detrimental to our culture and society. But oh well, Democracy is a double edged sword.

 

The United States of America is not a democracy.

 

That's not what he said. Don't be cute.

 

Sorry. This should have said, "didn't severely effect whites in a negative way". Too late for edit. My bad.

 

I think that the black culture itself is cause of these problems - and rap is the product of this culture. If blacks didn't exist, there would be definitely much less crime. Just look at the crime statistics...

 

"There are only 3 types of lies: lies, (*)(*)(*)(*) lies, and statistics". -Mark Twain

Minorities are disproportionately in poverty in America, and are packed into urban areas where crime can gain momentum before it draws the eye of law enforcement. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of poor whites in America, but these whites tend to live in rural areas where the cops know they are trouble makers as soon as they are born and go to jail for a beer run before they ever make it to murder. Now take into fact most cops and judges are white. We are all human beings and none of us are perfect. A white judge is going to familiarize with a troubled white youth way more often than he will be able to familiarize with a troubled black youth. My cousins won't like me saying it, but it is the truth.

 

Rap might be OK for some, but to me, it`s as boring as bat(*)(*)(*)(*).

 

That's just a bunch of pathetic excuses. All this white guilt nonesenses are in fact a myth, blacks are in fact subject of reverse discrimination...blacks and only blacks are to be blamed for this state of things, not the society.

 

Is that right? You have extensive knowledge of black people in the Czech Republic? LMAO

 

I lived in the USA. It seems that you don't have any knowledge about your own country at all, sir.

 

Well, yippy skippy. I lived here all my life. From southern California to southeast Idaho. I've met blacks who would gun you down to hard working fellas, as I have known whites who would gut ya like a brook trout to bishops in the local church. We are all just human beings. Good and bad come in all shapes and sizes, and when one type is disproportionately represented in crimes statistics, that tells me those Americans need my help, not my judgment. Do this country a favor, don't come back.

 

Which blacks? Which society?

 

I have a news for you: blacks have average IQ of 85, while whites have IQ 100. That's the ultimate cause of all black problems with crime. And the cause of their lower IQ is largely genetic. No, people are not created equal at all.

 

African Americans and the majority society.

 

And you are from the Czech Republic?

..........

 

eh? Yes I am, but as I said, I lived in the U.S. for some time.

 

Here's in Denmark it's white gangs from the former Communist Europe that top the crime statistics. But that's not IQ related then?

 

There is good rap. There is great rap. Rap has suffered just as any artform does that becomes popular these days. The suits take over and tranform it into a vapid money-making machine.

The lyrics in real rap, good rap, are a RESULT of things that have had a negative impact on society, not a cause of them.

 

Specifically, they address the fact that most tests intended to determine intelligence measure past learning (knowledge) as opposed to dynamic learning. Thus, the informal "definition" of intelligence is substituted for an actual definition. The problem is that the informal "definition" is, itself, dynamic. It changes based on circumstances, and who is using it. Thus, IQ tests measure different things, and are unusable in scientific comparisons.

The other problem, is that "race" suffers from the same problem. There is no agreed upon definition, and it is largely a sociological, rather than biological or psychological concept. As such, we substitute imprecise observations, which results in unusable information.

http://medicine.yale.edu/labs/kidd/440.pdf

The bibliography for their compilation of information is at the bottom.

 

While I don't think it's the cause of significant harm, "gangster rap" isn't healthy either. There are many variations of rap music, and it's important to target the sub-genre specifically (as painting with a broad brush taints forms of Hip Hop expression that are innocent). While it's all speculative, I wouldn't hesitate to contribute the sense of "pride" that comes with "repping a hood" with the records currently playing on the radio that add credit to such behavior. While some songs tell a story of struggle to get out, others glorify an unhealthy atmosphere as if said atmosphere determines one's strength. I used to work with kids that would wear their hood as a stamp of approval... as if it established how "hard" they were. I don't see how DJ Khaled's "Welcome to my Hood" record doesn't support that very act.