The Negative Influences of Music

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Recommended: Negative effects of rap music on teens 2015

Teenagers today are negatively impacted by the messages that rap music is sending out through its lyrics, music videos, and through personal statements from the artists. The impacts include perilous things such as drugs, unprotected sex, and murder which will lead to them hurting themselves as well as others. Through censoring music and speaking up, concerned adults can help to diminish these problems although they may never completely disappear.

Speech is one of the most impacting ways of getting across what someone wants to say. Through lyrics rap artist are able to convey the message they want to early to the fans. Often times these lyrics are full of negative messages and have negative effects on the listener. In a study done it was found that "songs with violent lyrics consistently increased aggressive feelings and thoughts, regardless of musical style or the use of humor. Researchers say the violence in the music prompted feelings of hostility without provocation or threat, which could later lead to violent behavior. "Aggressive thoughts can influence perceptions of ongoing social interactions, coloring them with an aggressive tint," says researcher Craig A. Anderson, PhD of Iowa State University." (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology May 2003) Young Adults listening to rap music may take these lyrics seriously and act upon them. Some of the representative lyrics are from a producer named Dr. Dre. His former group N.W.A. (Niggaz with Attitude) has lyrics as follows "This is the bitch that did the whole crew/She did it so much we made bets on who the ho would love to go through.../And she lets you videotape her/And if you got a gang of niggers the bitch'll let you rape her(N.W.A, 1990)." These lyrics are derogat...

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...women. The Rap Artists speak about how women are nothing and put men on a pedestal above all. Misogyny is "a hatred of women" (Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary). Many studies are done on the effects of rap music on teenagers in respect to misogyny. The results often come out to show that teenagers are viewing women as nothing, and that they're sole purpose in life is to have sex with men. They get these ideas from Rap Artists who represent women as nothing else but pieces of "meat." They give the idea that it is ok disrespect women and treat them poorly. "And forget about game, I'm a spit the truth! I won't stop till I get em in their birthday suits!! So gimme the rhythm and it'll be off wit their clothes Then "bend over to the front! and touch your toes!!" (Usher's Yeah 2004). In this song he is portraying women ad nothing more than objects of his desire.

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