Have you ever heard of the music that some of the young people are listening to on their apple iPhone or androids? The young people today are swarmed with the ability to listen to music anywhere and whatever time. These people can be seen listening to music at your local gyms, walking around the block, in their rooms, hanging out together, studios, cars and classrooms. Well, one genre in particular that’s very popular in American society among young people is a style called Hip-Hop. Additionally, this genre is also very popular all across the world, mainly among some Chinese, Hispanics and other ethnic groups. Currently, it is a five-billion-dollar industry that mainly focuses its attention on potential customers that are between the ages of 18 to 34 years old (Gaille ). This group does not have a lot of money, but they do have some buying power because they like to spend the money they do have. Although communities and parents can be partially blamed for allowing their children to listen to the violent hip hop lyrics, the music industry is more responsible for creating, publishing and distributing this negative music to our youth that includes topics of gangs, domestic and sexual violence leading to all the problems we see in our communities.

 To give a little more background on the Hip Hop music, it includes the image of African American youth and their violent tendencies. The Hip Hop lyrics are referring to things the rappers have experienced such as low income, living in urban areas, crimes and the black youth in general. Jabari Mahari and Erin Conner (2003) states that rap sometimes can even enhance writing skills for the youth to help tell their stories and make rap better. One negative point in this genre, is the blaming of the rap music industry for the violence and sexual content that the youth is listening to today. Black youth have been stereotyped to be violent as a consequence of growing up with low income, and are around crime (Mahari & Conner 122). This lyrical music that the industry and producers are providing the listeners with things like crimes of young people that happen every day, killing one another, domestic violence on innocent women, lots of graphic material that could hurt our young people attitudes with information about having guns and buying drugs on the streets. One of the most important ways they are learning the hip hop lyrics is watching the rappers on YouTube demonstrating their lyrics. These Hip Hop videos that the industry is producing are rapidly put up on social media showing the rappers being violent and dangerous in the songs inspiring the listener to see what they can actually be like. These young men that are listening to and watching the violent rappers are not only from the black urban youth culture, but also from many other diverse groups like the Hispanic and Asian culture and are being negatively influenced (Mahari & Conner 122). The human male is known to a be visual learner. When they watch something happen they will use it in their behavior: like when seeing violence, they will tend to act violently.  

First, let me explain what exactly rap music contains and goes by. Hip-hop and rap is the same type of music, but gangster, hardcore, and activist rap people are more concerned about because it is violent (Jones 346). Rap music is a genre of music that you hear nationally from all cultural aspects especially the black culture. The culture comes from an urban area usually that is violent, low income and high crime rate. According to Wu-Tang mastermind RZA the music comes from tough neighborhoods created by tough people as a way to show aggression (Weiss).  The culture they live in someone could be killed at any point in time. For example, Jam Master was a rapper was murdered. They have a lot of major inequalities, drugs and educational issues. Rappers are using their past experiences as a way for the people to hear their voices in the world. The main story of the music comes from promoting violence, drugs and alcohol, domestic violence and cheating (Mahari & Conner 123). Rap music started getting big in the late 1980's-1990's. The Ghetto Boys, Public Enemy and N.W. A were the first gangster rappers and they promoted the violence to the society. The parents of the youth grew up listening to gangster rap, so this goes on to have kids that are brought up in this culture.  The youth is the biggest involvement of this culture because they have nothing but bad influences around them and it will continue on to the next generation unless it is stopped.

To begin with the hip hop music has a negative influence with the youth and gang members in our communities. The music industry is publishing this disappointing music and violent videos, which causes young people the to think it is acceptable in everyday life. Johnson, Jackson and Gatto (1995) studied the attitudes and perceptions of young African American males about the exposure of rap music, which led to acceptance of violence when they were exposed to violent rap videos. One point to make is that the youth gather up listening to hip hop music, dancing to it and interpreting it. The youth go out and act violently towards others because of what they have been hearing and watching online. For example, in 1988, a group called N.W.A published a song called "Fuck The Police" and it is actually telling the gangs and youth to go out and kill policemen, which was encouraging them to go out and show violence against policemen. Another influential point the industry has on gangs is from the well-known rappers, who perform violent videos showing people killing one another. Some rappers have actually killed someone themselves. For example, Gucci Mane a well-known rapper was charged with murder and he put every detail about what happened in live interviews and song lyrics. On the other hand, rappers defend themselves saying that they are imaginary characters. As a result of the violence and hip hop music gang members and the youth is being influenced by the negativity.

Gang members in the hip hop culture use social media as a major influence on today’s youth to promote violence. Desmond Patton, Assistant Professor at the University of Columbia, argues that social media has found multiple hostile behavior issues and negatives on their website by gang members. Gang violence had a huge outbreak on social media, there were videos of gang members beating others up for street credibility and leaking it so people will respect them. The reason for this is because black men that lived in urban areas created an alter ego so that people would look at them as masculine (Patton 59). They are posting these violent videos on the internet and the youth are using social media more every day. The youth are watching the gang members act out violently and its causing them to be violent in their lifestyles. Diana Hernandez et al (2013) examined the youths thought on violence in hip hop and she found out that the youth only think that the violence is entertaining and not affecting them. Although experiments showed us that Hip Hop causes the youth to think violence is acceptable. Hip Hop is promoting violence by showing real life actions and visuals causing people to have violent mindsets. Some youth learn how to use violence as a way to gain or maintain respect for themselves from hip hop.  For some of the youth their job is to have this tough image to keep individuals from their personal space. In this culture of violence, the youth think that they are not in the wrong for their actions because of the influential rap music. Hernandez et al (2013), also states that male youth disagree with using violence on women, but when they feel the women are disrespecting them they tend to be aggressive and young men didn’t see pushing, slapping and pulling as a way of violence against women (602). The youth already thinks the violence is acceptable and the rap videos that the youth are watching are making them think that domestic violence is okay. 

Another area the hip-hop music industry influences domestic violence against women the rap music called misogyny. It is a theme in rap music and videos that supports, justifies and glorifies the exploitation against women (Cundiff). The rappers use the style to portray their muscularity over women They have promoted the attitude that men can overpower women and they are the boss over the women. Over the past couple years, themes of the music genre have included topics like physical violence, rape, insulting language and sexual attacks (Cundiff). The women are stereotyped in the lyrics and videos as prostitutes, hookers and submissive characters. These domestic violence videos are a major influence on the youth to act out sexual violence towards women almost making it a normal behavior and acting out their male aggressions. In the community men are trying to raise their social status by exploiting their girlfriends, sisters and girls they barely know. The music industry promoted misogyny asking the rappers to rap more violent and offensive lyrics to gain more audience and money. For example, Kevin Gates has a song called " Satellites" which he has acts of pushing his woman around and beating her not carrying much about her.

The opposing side of this argument is the music industry and the rappers. They are not accepting blame for the violence that there causing the youth to demonstrate. The industry is now making attempts to change its past and to focus on the positive side of hip-hop and how it influences the world and the youth in a good way. Several people in the music industry claim that hip hop bonds people and relates listeners together with mutual situations, like with your personal trials and tribulations, our immediate inner circle of family and friends, and the real world violations. One supporter is Rashid Lonnie (aka) Common (2014) talks about how music is actually a good influence on our youth today. He believes that rappers are actually glad that they get to grab a mic to relate with the youth and speak factual things that are going on in their lives. Rashid Lonnie is an American rapper and actor, that is known for being someone who raps about people’s experiences. But, one music executive, Chris Lighty, did admit that hip hop was involved with violent acts of aggression among the rappers (Weiss). Other people in the music industry are still trying to repair the bad reputation and admitting to being responsible for the violence of today’s youth.

In addition, Hip-Hop plays an important positive role in our athletic part of life, like during sports games. Often these sports venues are playing super loud popular music to the crowd over the speakers keeping the momentum going and the crowd dancing and excited. This results in motivation to win and inspires everyone to come together as one for the same cause. Usually the adults typically look at the dreadful side of hip-hop and think youth should not follow or listen because it is connected to the awful urban life of which they think it is made up of crime. Carl Taylor and Virgil Taylor (2004) argues that these days the youth see hip hop as the truth interpreted to them and a way to help them grow mentally. This music style is a way for young people to share their past experiences, bond together and for their point of view of reality to be heard, which is often overlooked in today’s world. This shows the positive side of what the rappers and the music industry wants the listeners to get out of Hip-Hop. It overlooks the negative aspects of Hip-Hop.

Another negative aspect opponents are concerned about are the rappers writing and publishing their personal violent experiences and making money from it, which damages the music’s reputation. When Hip-Hop originated it focused on the violence and crimes as its major topics back in the day. Multiple artists that were guilty of crimes and artists that were victims of crimes.  For example, Jeff Weiss (2013) talks in his article about rapper Lil Boosie going down for one of the biggest drug bust in New York City having “two-hundred-fifty-four firearms and nineteen indictments.” Also, during this time he made songs about situations like this, which landed him millions of dollars. Another example of a group of rappers he talks about was 50 cent, Cam’ron and Young Buck being victims of shooting attacks. These rappers go on to publicize their horrible private life making them some of the most popular rappers. The present day music industry is trying to change its past business style by finding a different type of rapper. Artists nowadays seem to react more violently towards themselves than towards someone else. Since social media brings so much attention to the youth and the community, they want rappers to put a positive message in their music. Maybe this is the music industry way of taking responsibility for putting out a better message.

In conclusion, with our parents and the community accept having some responsibility for what their children listen to and their behavior, the music industry should have the most responsibility for the violence that it published and distributed. This is resulting in what the young people are following today on social media and modern technology. Parents and schools try to teach their children what is right and wrong, what is good and bad, and how to be a good person. But with today’s social media and all of the influences that surround our youth from all the modern technology, they are not able to control what is being published and distributed to what their children listen to when they are not around. The music industry has the control and the power on deciding what they are going to promote and make money off of our youth and people who listen to it. It needs to more of a positive message sent out by good role models that the young people can follow and look up to. The music industry needs to remember what is being showed and displayed to the youth will inspire them to partake in some of the cruel things that are being done and said to them. The youth pick up things that they normally see or hear because they don’t know any better. This type of violence should not be shown anywhere. If the music industry is serious about changing its ways, they need to start promoting a positive message so that young people will learn a new way of life.  If they use guns, sex, domestic violence and drugs that is what the youth is going to use also. These rappers need to say positive things, publishers need to promote positive music and the youth needs to go down the right path in life.
