Rap Music, Violence, and Expression: Causes vs. Effects

Introduction: Rap Music and the Violence Question

Rap music is a phenomenon unparalleled in America. At no other time has a musical form risen in such a way and gripped a nation so fully. While rap music has its roots in the ghettos of the United States and in Black culture, it is now a full-scale industry that caters to the disenfranchised youth of America and bridges gaps of culture and social class. Indeed, one of the most famous rappers relevant to this topic is white, as are most of the current buyers and listeners of rap music. Violence and rap music are interwoven in such a way that it is nearly impossible to completely separate them, but examining the causes and results of that violence is a distinct topic with far-reaching implications — including the question of government regulation of the music industry. Parental guidelines and warnings are now posted on music CDs, and Washington even considered, at one point, creating an "adults only" section in music stores, similar to restrictions applied to adult-only videos.

When talking about violence and music, there is a classic question: which came first, the chicken or the egg? If music is the egg, the chicken far preceded it. Violence has been part of human history for as long as records exist, and the world's long catalog of wars and brutality predates any musical genre. Rap music, as a popular industry, has existed since the mid-1980s, when artists such as Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer broke onto the music scene in a very large way. Ghetto violence and violence perpetrated by minorities and the poor, however, predates the mid-1980s by centuries — so why is there such intense focus on rap music?

The reason is that rap music is, almost inherently, associated with violence. Rappers such as Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, Busta Rhymes, and Eminem rap about violence, and some are known felons themselves. Rap is arguably the only popular music genre in which violence and other crimes such as drug abuse are primary themes and simultaneously generate enormous commercial sales. But the central question remains: has rap music caused further violence among youth and the disenfranchised, or is it simply their way of expressing themselves?

Media Violence and Youth Exposure

It is difficult to single out rap music in isolation because of the broader media diet that the average American youth consumes. Video games, television programs, and the full spectrum of music — including music videos — must all be considered together. In her book Impact of Media on Children and Adolescents, Susan Villani (2001) notes that incidents of violence and drug use across all media have increased over the previous twenty years. The rise of video games has added another dimension; many games use conflict and violence as their central themes and are enormously popular among youth. Games such as Counterstrike and Grand Theft Auto are so violent that they have provoked public outcries of their own, with realism often being a deliberate design goal. It must therefore be remembered that youth are exposed to many media sources that depict — and in some cases glorify — violence.

According to reports cited by Villani (2001), 65% of television programs viewed by youth contain some form of violence, while only 20% of the music listened to by the same group contains violent content. This comparison is significant: television reaches young audiences with violent content at more than three times the rate of music, yet music — and rap in particular — receives a disproportionate share of public criticism and regulatory scrutiny.

Music's Emotional Power and the Role of Attractive Perpetrators

On the other hand, music touches us in ways that video games and television do not. There is the age-old observation that "music soothes the savage beast." This speaks to the calming power of music — but if music can soothe, can it not also enrage? Music is intensely personal, especially when we relate to it. Couples often have "our song," and studies have shown that music can profoundly alter mood. Research has confirmed that music can indeed soothe, but it has also demonstrated that music can depress or heighten aggression over the short term. Whether music can be a direct cause of violence is another matter entirely, since changing an emotion momentarily is very different from shaping long-term ideas and values.

In rap music, as in many forms of popular media, "attractive perpetrators" frequently glorify violence. According to the National Media Violence Study (1995–1998), 38% of depicted violence is carried out by "attractive perpetrators," 26% of which involves weapons, and in more than 50% of cases no pain is shown to result. Furthermore, nearly 75% of violent acts are portrayed with no evident remorse, criticism, or penalty. In 41% of incidents, humor accompanies the violence. These attractive perpetrators function as role models, and when consequences — sorrow, penalty, or remorse — are absent from the portrayal, the message communicated is that violence carries no negative results. This is profoundly at odds with reality, where violence nearly always produces suffering, legal consequences, and personal regret. It must therefore be concluded that this type of media — rap music included — presents a distorted world in which violence appears consequence-free.

Rap as Expression, Not Cause

Studies examining the relationship between rap music and the behaviors of its listeners are often skewed by the nature of who is being studied. One study on schools and the association between music preferences and listener behavior concluded that those who listen to rap and heavy metal music are more likely to engage in reckless behavior — including driving while intoxicated, driving at speeds exceeding 80 mph, drug use, sexual promiscuity, shoplifting, and vandalism. Critically, however, the study concluded that it is not the music that causes this reckless behavior; rather, individuals already inclined toward such behavior are simply attracted to these musical styles. This distinction is vital: it demonstrates that the music does not produce the behavior, but that the behavior and social environment produce an audience for this music. Rap, in this reading, is the result of violence — not the cause.

By a wide margin, young Black males are overrepresented in the criminal justice and prison systems relative to their share of the general population. This same demographic makes up the majority of prominent rap artists and a large portion of rap's fan base. If rap music is genuinely the result of violence among minority and Black youth in particular, then rap should be understood as a form of expression rather than a generator of violence. Forms of expression have a general name: art. Rap music must be taken seriously as art and as a legitimate medium of expression.

In her book Hole in Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music, Martha Bayles (1996) blamed gangsta rap for street crime, pointing to the violent deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. as pertinent examples of rappers consumed by the gang conflicts they portrayed. Bayles makes some accurate and sobering sociological observations about gangsta rap as a repository and encourager of destructive attitudes among adolescent males. She also makes the less-quoted claim that "the burden of proof lies with those who would repeal the law against offensive crudity, not with those who would enforce it" (Bayles, 1996). At the same time, some of the music she disdains — including gangsta rap — is largely confined to relatively small and homogeneous fan groups of young men and is played on radio only in strictly segregated formats. Without the occasional media controversy, most non-listeners would barely know it existed. The social pathologies Bayles identifies are not strictly generated by the music itself.

The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem certainly portrays some disturbing thoughts and acts. His detractors condemn him by presenting disconnected lyrical snippets that make his work appear to be nothing more than ignorant advocacy of hateful violence. Yet Eminem's song "I'm Back" expresses amazement that a criminal could be considered "an innocent victim… puppet on the string of my tennis shoe" (Doherty, 2001). He traces the roots of his own dark imagination to a rootless, fatherless upbringing with a drug-abusing mother and violent peers: "Read up / About how I used to get beat up / Peed on, be on free lunch and change schools every three months" (Doherty, 2001). Eminem provides an artful look into a dark world from which many prefer to turn away. America is home to many angry young men like the one Marshall Mathers portrays — or perhaps is — in real life.

References

Villani, Susan. "Impact of Media on Children and Adolescents: A 10-Year Review of the Research." Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, April 1, 2001.

The National Media Violence Study. Federman, 1996, 1997, 1998. "Preventing and Producing Violence: A Critical Analysis of Responses to School Violence." Harvard Educational Review.

Bayles, Martha. Hole in Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music. New York: The Free Press, 1996.

Doherty, Brian. "Listen Up! Eminem Gives a Voice to His Generation." Detroit News, February 18, 2001.

Koza, Julia Eklund. "Rap Music: The Cultural Politics of Official Representation." Review of Education/Pedagogy/Cultural Studies, 1994, 16(1).

Rose, Tricia. Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America. Hanover and London: University of New England Press, 1994.

Rose, Tricia. "'Fear of a Black Planet': Rap Music and Black Cultural Politics in the 1990s." Journal of Negro Education, 1991, 60(3).

Conquergood, Dwight. "On Reppin' and Rhetoric: Gang Representations." Paper presented at the Philosophy and Rhetoric of Inquiry Seminar, April 8, 1992.