The Dark History of Violence in Rap Music

Abstract

History of Violence in Rap Music Rap music is a great genre that involves vocal delivery incorporating rhythmic speech, rhyme, and street vernacular. It is a genre whose origin dates back to the 1970s and spells black history as the major people that introduced rap styles within the music industry. However, it is imperative to note that the association of the rap genre with the black community plays a significant role in defining the violent nature of rap as facts will support this assumption within this essay. Rap began in block parties in New York City in the early 1970s with DJs isolating percussion breaks of soul, disco songs, and funk, and extending them to provide a certain rhythm while MCs embraced talking between music introducing the rapping nature of music that kept the target audiences fully entertained and crazy. It is in 1979 with the introduction of “Rappers Delight” by The Sugarhill Gangs and “The Breaks” by Kurtis Blow in early 1980 that the African American community proved their potential in introducing a new taste within the music industry. Unfortunately, such an origin might be the major reason behind the violent nature of rap music from many racists' perception though even the message within such rap might play a significant role in defining the genre's violent nature. It is imperative to start with the message within rap music to ascertain whether they have any connection with the urge to become or remain violent while singing and after singing such songs. Paying close attention to "A Nigga Witta Gun" by Dr. Dre one can assume the probability of violence urge just by a simple analysis of the music's title. While looking back at the Second and the Fourteenth Amendment within the American Constitution, it is open that gun access is an open right for American citizens. However, the problem with such a right remains depicted in the uncontrolled gun culture that takes over most American behaviors and is worsened by any form of an entertaining piece of rap music being among the most influential (Rose, Justice & Moon (2018). What does such a right mean within an influential genre like rap whose origin has a close connection with a community considered as dangerous and a threat to the peace of America? Only the message within such a genre can confirm the hypothesis. Since early 1992, Dr. Dre's "A Nigga Witta Gun" has been encouraging the use of guns among other forms of violence through its very suggestive language/message. "A Nigga Witta Gun" has a very suggestive message that can drive its audience to a certain level of evilness. For instance "What's wrong nigga? You can't talk with a gun in your mouth? (It wasn't, it wasn't me Dre) You can't talk with a gun in your mouth? (It wasn't me) Listen up, nigga, you know Lucifer? (Nah) Well, you're about to meet him, motherfucker" Such a message is a clear indication of war, and crime among other violent behaviors as the audience tries to act following the spoken words. Unfortunately, since rap is more of speaking than singing, the energy to act following the message remains well defined thus making such a song more of a threat than a moral teaching piece. It is not a big deal to find the artist and the performing crew holding guns as they perform encouraging their target audiences to do the same which can result in massive violence in the long run. The message is the key in any music genre as the target audience tends to analyze such pieces from the message's point of view and act according to its directions. On further accounts, one can argue that rap message since the 1970s when this genre became well known has significantly contributed to youth violence claiming many of their lives before they hit thirty years. It is through self-expression that rap message makes many youths manifest a feeling of hopelessness and discontent resulting in high levels of violence among rap lovers. According to (Brank, Fox & Kaspar, V. (2014), rap listeners are always at a high risk of abusing drugs like alcohol and committing other violent acts as expressed in songs like "Pass the Courvoisier" by Busta Rhythms and Jimmy Buffet music like “Songs you know by Heart”. The message in this song is a direct persuasion to the target audience to use a certain drug and in this case alcohol and pass it from one person to the other until everyone in the music room gets a bottle. As the rapper puts it "what you gonna say? Tell that brother, pass the Courvoisier. You are going to tell that brother, pass the Courvoisier. Everybody singing now pass the Courvoisier." Such a message is very clear and directive thus as the target audience plus the performing crew get deeper to the message, they find engaged to alcohol a drug that enhances violence in the long-run. Funny enough, such performances involve the application and use of real brews ensuring alcoholic addictions become a reality to such piece lovers. Fortunately or unfortunately, most brewery companies use such a song among other...