Rap Music's Impact on Teens and the COMA Media Literacy Program

Introduction: Rap Music and Adolescent Concern

Rap music, videos, and the hip-hop media industry as a whole often make use of shocking and violent words and images. The rap industry has thus spawned fear in the hearts of many parents, parent organizations, and even politicians. But the idea of a potentially dangerous impact of music on teen behavior is hardly new. Swing, bebop, rock and roll, and heavy metal all brought forth similar charges from parent organizations before they became part of mainstream popular culture. However, some social science researchers contend that the nature of contemporary rap music is particularly harmful to adolescent moral development.

Regardless, rap's popularity worldwide has exploded: "In 2003 the number-one selling artist, according to Billboard Records, was the former drug dealer and survivor of seven gunshot wounds — rapper 50 Cent. Myriad other rappers shattered the top 50 records sold in 2003, and in 2004 the pattern continued… rappers such as P. Diddy, Eminem, and Snoop Dogg are now household names. An example of this [rap's popularity] was [seen] in the 2004 presidential election campaign, when P. Diddy used his popularity and clout to increase youth voter turnout" (Iwamoto, 2007, p. 1). But do such positive civic images — like P. Diddy's pro-voting campaign — counteract the negative influences of rap?

Literature Review: Research on Rap and Teen Behavior

One early 1997 study on rap music found that adolescents who "listened to rap music with lyrics demonstrated slightly higher tendency toward verbal aggression than the subjects in a non-lyric group and a non-music control group. In this study, 60 males in grades three through five were matched in pairs and were given a music preference questionnaire to complete. Each pair, or dyad, was then videotaped while playing a game of table hockey. The same tasks were accomplished by dyads in each of the three conditions. Pairs that were in the music-with-lyrics group showed a slightly higher tendency toward verbal and nonverbal aggressive behavior, especially in the competitive table hockey exercise, implying that the lyrics are more influential than the music or beat" (King et al., 2009). However, the measured difference between the two musical experiences was relatively minimal. There was no comparison between individuals listening to rap music without lyrics and other types of music without lyrics, to determine whether rap itself was more harmful to the moral development of young people than other genres.

The question of what is so troubling — and potentially dangerous — about rap music for developing teens has produced different conclusions in the existing research literature. "Another study had participants read either sad or happy lyrics while listening to instrumental music to measure if the lyrics had any effect on mood. The results indicated that the lyrical content had no effect on mood," suggesting that "adolescents do not correctly interpret or comprehend the messages of song lyrics, and that they feel lyrics are the least important reason for liking a song" (King et al., 2009). The study authors concluded that it was rap's energized musical style, rather than its lyrical content, that accounted for any increase in youth aggression compared with a control group — meaning that censoring or altering lyrics would have little impact on counteracting negative influences.

Another research study "involved participants reading either pro-social or anti-social lyrics assigned as heavy metal, rap, country, or pop. The participants then rated the songs. Results indicated that regardless of the type of lyrics, heavy metal and rap were rated more likely to inspire antisocial behavior and negative mood. These studies seem to suggest that the actual lyrics have little effect on creating a certain mood in individuals, but rather it is the expectations associated with the particular music genre" (King et al., 2009).

Yet further research found that "given the controversy surrounding antisocial themes that are sometimes present in heavy metal and rap lyrics, it is important to note that heavy metal and rap fans report much higher levels of interest and attention to lyrics than do teens in general… attention to lyrics is highest among fans of oppositional or controversial music (whether it is 1960s protest folk or rock or the heavy metal and rap of today). In other words, the more defiant, alienated, and threatening to the mainstream a music type is, the more closely its fans follow the words" (Roberts et al., 2003, p. 159).

Despite teens' articulated sentiments that they do not care about or mindlessly obey lyrics, there are subliminal effects that rap music's words may have, according to one study. Comparative data on 11- through 16-year-old lower-income African-American boys exposed to either eight violent rap videos or eight nonviolent rap videos — who were then asked to answer questions about two brief stories — found that viewers of violent content were more apt to condone violent behavior, such as a man attacking his girlfriend's ex after seeing her with him. The group exposed to violent music and images was also more approving of individuals in a story who chose to make more money and drive expensive cars rather than finish college (Roberts et al., 2003, p. 168).

Adults cannot discount the importance of music in the lives of adolescents, nor can they deprive teens of rap's self-defining nature. The question is how to use music in a positive rather than a negative way, to support the development of healthy teenage lifestyle practices. "Try to change the radio station in the car after your child has set it, and you will quickly see that they have very clear and deeply held opinions" (Roberts et al., 2003, p. 153). Adolescents often consume more music than television during this critical juncture of their lives "to control mood and enhance emotional states. Music's ability to communicate emotion and influence mood has been widely noted" (Roberts et al., 2003, p. 156).

Social Cognition Theory and Rap's Influence

Music also becomes an important form of social and personal self-definition during adolescence: "some have suggested that while the emotional uses of popular music are important, the social uses and meanings provide the real key to understanding its niche in the lives of youth" (Roberts et al., 2003, p. 156). In terms of presenting positive role models — particularly to young African-American men and women — this becomes a pressing concern when disseminating rap music. "Popular music at once expresses, creates, and perpetuates the essential 'us–them' distinctions that develop between groups" (Roberts et al., 2003, p. 158). The "us vs. them" distinction promoted in rap music strikes a contrast between the "cool and the uncool" and the "law-breaking vs. the law-abiding." This can be destructive if adolescents identify with the former rather than the latter (Roberts et al., 2003, p. 158).

The misogynistic images in many rap videos have come under particular scrutiny in recent years: greater exposure to rap music videos has been associated with sexually risky behaviors in African-American girls. One study attributed this development to social cognition theory. The "cornerstone of this theory states that modeling will occur more readily when the modeled behavior is salient, simple, and prevalent and has functional value. Thus, exposure to rap music videos, particularly gangsta rap — the most popular type of music video — which is explicit about sex and violence and rarely shows the potential long-term adverse effects of risky behaviors, may influence adolescents by modeling these unhealthy practices. Alternatively, African-American female teenagers may identify with the characters and themes in rap music videos, and exposure to these videos may reinforce teenagers engaging in such behaviors" (Wingood et al., 2003).

Social cognition theory suggests that the more a poor, urban teen lacks role models at home, the more he or she is apt to engage in behaviors modeled on media images (Wingood et al., 2003). However, the study of African-American girls addressed correlation rather than causality — it could be that individuals already more inclined toward negative life patterns, such as engaging in unsafe sexual activity, are more likely to listen to rap than other forms of music. That does not mean that listening to rap was the cause of those negative behaviors.