Is hip hop hurting you?

    “Work it, make it, do it, makes us harder, better, faster, stronger!”  These are the lyrics of a Kanye West song.   And they describe exactly what the hip-hop industry has been doing throughout the years. Hip-hop has become one of the fastest growing musical genres of our time. Its rapid growth in popularity amongst teens has raised concerns in parents and public health experts. With lyrics, music videos, and dance moves becoming more and more sexually explicit, it is no wonder that the hip-hop culture has been harshly criticized.

    One of the many questions people have is whether hip-hop’s explicit lyrics encourage sex at younger ages. According to research done by The RAND Corporation published in the Journal of Pediatrics, degrading lyrics, not sexual lyrics, are the problem. The study found that adolescents who were exposed to the highest levels of sexually degrading lyrics were twice as likely to have sex by the end of the study. The researchers defined degrading lyrics as those that portrayed women as sexual objects, men as insatiable and sex as inconsequential.

    Yet some still disagree, “Music is just music, a person does what they want to do not because they listen to what a songs says.” said senior Daniela Uria.
   
    Yet the question still burns in everyone’s mind. Who does the responsibility fall upon to control the youth’s exposure to inviting and explicit sing along lyrics? Many members of the music industry say that it is the job of the parents and educators to create a framework for the young people to understand what they are exposed to through music and media.
 
    Yet the youth are the ones taking matters into their own hands, “If I don’t like the music that is being played on the station because of their annoying lyrics and the fact that in reality women are not what they are referred to as in the lyrics then I just change the station or listen to something else.” said freshmen Ndidi Obasi.  
Every preceding generation always seems troubled by the musical preferences of the next, such as when Elvis became known for his gyrating hips, which were once viewed as an adulterating influence on the nation’s youth.
    
    “This music degrades women, African-Americans, and other groups of people. So many kids listen to it of all races and
both genders and when it is accepted in the media they feel like its OK to act like the stuff they see on T.V. is correct,” said senior David Bickerstaff.

    “The hip hop  today is all based around money, drugs, and sex, but that is not real hip hop, that is what the media has labeled that type of “music” There is no positive outcome that you can receive from listening to that kind of music. It’s supposed to make you feel good and if all you surround yourself with is stuff about money, sex, and drugs you are most likely going to express yourself by the ways that have been shown in this music,”
 said Bickerstaff.
   
    While there is definitely a popular opinion that hip-hop is music that has negative effects on people, there are also many who disagree with that sentiment. “It is music that makes you feel good, it gets you in the mood. When they use vulgar language you don’t take it seriously because you know it is just a song,” said senior Michelle Abanez.

    It is also evident that the hip-hop industry has stretched far beyond its black history so that students of every race listen to the vast type of music. Many think that what sells hip-hop is its high content of sex and violence. But to others, true hip-hop isn’t just music,  it’s a culture, a way of life, a language, a fashion, and a unique perspective .

    “I don’t think it is degrading because I know I am not what the lyrics say women are.” said senior Cindy Manlan. “Hip-hop is more than just the little girls dancing on the videos if you just listen to the words there is so much more to it.” Said Senior Zainab Koroma. Junior Fatema Ehsan said,

    “I don’t believe that hip-hop has an influence on people becoming more sexually active and violent because your actions are in your hands, music can’t make you do something,” said junior Fatem Ehsan. “You choose to do it yourself.”
   
    Today hip-hop and rap are the fastest growing music genres in the U.S., accounting for more than 10% of the music industry’s profits.

    “If you think about it, it is all just marketing: with the videos, the naked girls, the bling, the fancy cars, and the catchy lyrics.  They want you to talk about the culture, they want to be noticed and they want to make money,” said Abanez.  
Hip-hop’s influence has spread worldwide. Approximately 75% of the rap and hip-hop audience is non-black. Many companies such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Sprite, Nike, and other corporate giants have capitalized from hip-hop. If a closer look is taken into hip-hop one can observe that hip-hop culture in general is used to sell soda, candy, and clothes to young people. To see hip-hop as simply music or words is to not understand the impact and influence of a much greater movement.
   
    One of the many questions people have is whether hip-hop’s explicit lyrics encourage sex at younger ages. Yet some still disagree, “Music is just music, a person does what they want to do not because they listen to what a songs says.” said senior Daniela Uria.
   
     Yet the youth are the ones taking matters into their own hands, “If I don’t like the music that is being played on the station because of their annoying lyrics and the fact that in reality women are not what they are referred to as in the lyrics then I just change the station or listen to something else.” said freshmen Ndidi Obasi.  
   
    While it may be argued that the hip-hop culture has permeated into our culture, many students are not impacted, “Hip hop is not real music, it is just a beat with someone talking.” Said Senior Leon Mavlian. “ I hope the lyrics won’t be as degrading to women in the future because we don’t live in a primitive society in which women should be referred to as only sexual objects,” said senior Seemal Awan.

    “We live in a society in which it is accepted that hatred towards women is fine to sing about. At some point we will have to look at what that means for the world we live in,” said Abanez
  
    Even though many people believe the hip-hop industry has negative effects on people, it still continues to be one of the largest industries in the music business today.