Poll: Is rap/hip-hop really bad for kids?

[Nouw]

Of course not, if anything it's good for them in some obscure way.

 

[EllEzDee]

You should have slapped her across her fucking face. Is rock bad for kids? Is pop bad for kids (God yes). Just because it's a black person laying down the words, it doesn't mean it's going to be about drugs and punching hoes. Can we please get this notion out of the white population's mind that rap/hip hop is about illegal acts. And can we please castrate all the blacks who reinforce this notion by replacing their teeth with diamonds and "rhyming" about killing "niggas".

I was on the bus a few weeks ago listening to Busdriver and it wasn't until i got home (my house is right next to the bus stop) that i noticed my earphones had come out and the music had been blasting all over the bus. No one batted an eyelid...was surprising all things considered...

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

Inasmuch as it gets them started on a pattern of having shitty taste, yes, it's bad.

 

[Doomhammer828]

while i hate most rap i would say its not that bad, i mean come on would a kid even understand what they were saying

 

[Arsen]

I personally believe that hip hop culture has dumbed down society to such a great degree that it needs to be studied extensively. The actions, beliefs, and thoughts of those who listen to hip hop/rap are slightly off key from the "intellegent world". It caters to the poor, uneducated children who, because of their sociological upbringing, can't see the "world around them" for the sake of wanting to strive for better than their own self-believing pain.

Also, it's horrible that the majority of the black community tend to flock towards this standard of music, given it's one of the few outlets of a black youth. Now with that being said, there IS good hip hop and rap music out there. Unfortunately it hasn't purged itself of all its demons and inner wrongdoings as a culture itself to warrant the free pass of society at this point.

What I seem to gather is that it is the music, message, and overall mental conditioning of the "discrimated believer" who in fact, has and is continuing to falter due to his own indoctrinated beliefs.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

A few minutes of tinny, quiet rap isn't going to do anything to anyone. She's a moron. Of course, if her kid was listening to DMX every day and she didn't teach him any morals, then yes, that could be damaging.

 

[Tomo Stryker]

Seriously? I'm sorry but what licensed this woman to berate you? Unless your under seventeen years old there really wasn't a reason for this. Although that I agree that kids under a certain age shouldn't be exposed to something like Snoop or Dr. Dre until they can understand that its music, not reality.

That woman really needs to mind her own business and back the fuck off.

 

[campofapproval]

I personally believe that hip hop culture has dumbed down society to such a great degree that it needs to be studied extensively. The actions, beliefs, and thoughts of those who listen to hip hop/rap are slightly off key from the "intellegent world". It caters to the poor, uneducated children who, because of their sociological upbringing, can't see the "world around them" for the sake of wanting to strive for better than their own self-believing pain.

Also, it's horrible that the majority of the black community tend to flock towards this standard of music, given it's one of the few outlets of a black youth. Now with that being said, there IS good hip hop and rap music out there. Unfortunately it hasn't purged itself of all its demons and inner wrongdoings as a culture itself to warrant the free pass of society at this point.

What I seem to gather is that it is the music, message, and overall mental conditioning of the "discrimated believer" who in fact, has and is continuing to falter due to his own indoctrinated beliefs.

you'd really argue that hip-hop has "dumbed down" society? that "poor, uneducated children" because of their "sociological upbringing" (?) are ruining it for the rest of us? that's a bit blaming the victim at best, and extremely elitist (dare i say xenophobic?) at worst. there's something to be said about self-perpetuating shitty subcultures but you're not addressing that as much as implying people who like hip-hop are less "intellegent"

 

[JaredXE]

White people listening to rap inspires more than a few of them to become wiggers.....that is enough cause to ban rap music in it's entirety.

I think rap is absolute crap. Early rap had a poetry and was more of sharing what it was like in the ghetto. Now it's just entitled niggas, some of whom never even stepped foot in a ghetto, talking about fucking women, hitting women, snorting coke off of women, and all the things they would like to do to women if they had them. There is no reason for kids to listen to it. They want to learn swearing, well then they can listen to their drunk parents just like everyone else.

 

[barbzilla]

I really don't think that your music has any baring on who you are. I do not think that Rap/HipHop is bad for kids (or at least not any worse than any other form of entertainment). I do think it is bad for me as it gives me headaches (really not sure why, country music does the same).

Given the fact that my parents listened to the likes of Pink Floyd and Ozzy as I was growing up, followed by my sister inundating me with 80's Hair Metal, and my eventual love for Grunge and NuMetal I can ascertain that it may have influenced my taste in music. I however did not grow up as a drug addict, or a devil worshiper, or any of the other stigmas associated with the darker classic metal. This is just another tool used by people to assert control over the media available.

 

[Lionsfan]

if you read the rest of my post you'd know i wasn't just saying it's a "rap thing." and i was just giving those things as examples. i said a lot of rappers have condoned (or at least have not outright condemned) terrible acts in their lyrics; it is what it is. there's this thing called context that i don't think you're getting here; rather than discussing the minutia of what i didn't leave out in my comprehensive thesis statement, i made the point that there haven't been big movements of jazz or blues musicians expressing ideas that espouse really shitty things (that have always been shitty things, like, say, shooting public servants or, once again, rape) as an essential component of the product they sell. a lot of punk subgenres back shitty shit and a lot of metal does too (though black sabbath, if anything, was AGAINST devil worship if you knew what they were talking about.) there is much to be said about shock value selling records, but what has made rap, metal or punk successful has little in common with jazz, blues or soul in that regard.

I'm not talking about how Jazz, Blues, Soul music made success and how Rap, Punk, Metal made theirs. That's not the point. I'm saying that every time a new music genre sprouts up, then the older conservative grouping resist's the newer trend. It doesn't matter what things each group condoned or condemned. The fact is that even before Gangsta Rap arrived on the scene White Society (which was the majority) still looked down on Rappers in general, saying it was another stupid Black Music group (much like their grandfathers had looked down on Blues music). And you keep saying how rappers condone murder, rape, etc. etc. But what music are you talking about? What music has a rapper saying that for no reason. Virtually every song that has "Rape/Murder" has a context behind it due to Race Relations, Lifestyle and other various things.

White people listening to rap inspires more than a few of them to become wiggers.....that is enough cause to ban rap music in it's entirety.

I think rap is absolute crap. Early rap had a poetry and was more of sharing what it was like in the ghetto. Now it's just entitled niggas, some of whom never even stepped foot in a ghetto, talking about fucking women, hitting women, snorting coke off of women, and all the things they would like to do to women if they had them. There is no reason for kids to listen to it. They want to learn swearing, well then they can listen to their drunk parents just like everyone else.

What music are you talking about? Definitely not any Hip-Hop that is really prevalent

 

[moviedork]

Depends on the content. I wouldn't let anyone younger than 15 listen to ICP... well, maybe I would.

I wouldn't recommend anyone to listen to ICP on account that they are really, really crappy musicians though Miracles is, like Rebeca Black's Friday, a laughably bad song.

 

[Sharalon]

Don't be stupid! It's not just bad for kids. It's bad for everyone!

 

[campofapproval]

if you read the rest of my post you'd know i wasn't just saying it's a "rap thing." and i was just giving those things as examples. i said a lot of rappers have condoned (or at least have not outright condemned) terrible acts in their lyrics; it is what it is. there's this thing called context that i don't think you're getting here; rather than discussing the minutia of what i didn't leave out in my comprehensive thesis statement, i made the point that there haven't been big movements of jazz or blues musicians expressing ideas that espouse really shitty things (that have always been shitty things, like, say, shooting public servants or, once again, rape) as an essential component of the product they sell. a lot of punk subgenres back shitty shit and a lot of metal does too (though black sabbath, if anything, was AGAINST devil worship if you knew what they were talking about.) there is much to be said about shock value selling records, but what has made rap, metal or punk successful has little in common with jazz, blues or soul in that regard.

I'm not talking about how Jazz, Blues, Soul music made success and how Rap, Punk, Metal made theirs. That's not the point. I'm saying that every time a new music genre sprouts up, then the older conservative grouping resist's the newer trend. It doesn't matter what things each group condoned or condemned. The fact is that even before Gangsta Rap arrived on the scene White Society (which was the majority) still looked down on Rappers in general, saying it was another stupid Black Music group (much like their grandfathers had looked down on Blues music). And you keep saying how rappers condone murder, rape, etc. etc. But what music are you talking about? What music has a rapper saying that for no reason. Virtually every song that has "Rape/Murder" has a context behind it due to Race Relations, Lifestyle and other various things.

i'll agree that the blah blah blah white establishment whatever hates things regardless of what they preach. thing is, there's still plenty of rappers who condone about terrible shit. context exists, yes, but there's still plenty of, say, terrible misogyny or homophobia or whatever that you'd have to be a complete cultural relativist (read: lol) to say that's not terrible shit. rap isn't designed to be some sort of cold academic street ethnography, though there's plenty to glean from subtext. not everything's reducible to "that's one's environment" though. if you can't agree on that, there's nothing to discuss.

 

[Doctor Glocktor]

Rap and Hiphop aren't bad for kids, shitheads like Eminem and other dipshits are bad for kids.

 

[Lionsfan]

i'll agree that the blah blah blah white establishment whatever hates things regardless of what they preach. thing is, there's still plenty of rappers who condone about terrible shit. context exists, yes, but there's still plenty of, say, terrible misogyny or homophobia or whatever that you'd have to be a complete cultural relativist (read: lol) to say that's not terrible shit. rap isn't designed to be some sort of cold academic street ethnography, though there's plenty to glean from subtext. not everything's reducible to "that's one's environment" though. if you can't agree on that, there's nothing to discuss.

Examples? Seriously, that stuff had a small phase in the mid-90's and then it died off. It really didn't last that long and in the long run is more of a speed bump for the Hip Hop movement.