Ellsworth 1

Jordan Ellsworth
Mrs. DeBock
6 October 2016
English 4

Rap Music Causing A Rise In Violence

In 1995, A study organized by J. Johnson included young children with rap music. The
ones that watched violent rap videos were the ones who were accepting to do crimes, mainly
against women. Those who watched violent or nonviolent videos, they still had no interest in
succeeding in their schools. In another study, young women who listened or watch violent videos
were more interested to accept violence against women in a dating situation. Rap music has
been tested over the years to see if it affects teens to become violent and it normally does not
affect them.
In 2009, another study was performed on the inside of rap music. According to Listening
to Rap Music Does Not Make Teens Violent, Listening to rap is far more strongly correlated
with property crimes than crimes of violence among urban youth, and the likelihood of
committing such crimes is probably increased by poverty rather than musical preference.
Another question is, does rap music promote misogyny? Researchers had multiple groups with
different things to listen/read. One group was to listen to rap music with the lyrics, another was
to listen without the lyrics, one group just read the lyrics and the last group did not listen or read
anything. After they all were tested, none of the groups held more negative attitudes about
women they had before, but those who read or heard

Ellsworth 2
the lyrics, were more inclined to express sexual beliefs. In 2007, Cobb and Boettecher III found
an increase in sexism among males who listened to non-misogynistic rap lyrics. According to
Does Rap Music Affect Your Mood? a study conducted by Ballard and Coates (1995) found
that people who listen to a nonviolent rap song experienced more depressive symptoms than
those who listen to a violent one. Overall, rap songs are more inclined to make more negative
emotions than any other music genre.
According to Do Students Who Listen to Rap Music Engage in More Delinquent
Behaviors? Research finds that kids who prefer heavy metal or rap music is associate with high
rates of drug and alcohol use, arrest. This indicates that these music genres does not cause
behavior problems or addictions, it suggest that the youth is at risk. Rap Music is Blamed For
Promoting Violence claims that Eminems - The Marshall Mathers LP contains 14 songs, and
violence and misogynist lyrics are are found in 11 of them (79%): Worse still, nine of the eleven
songs depict killing women, with drowning becoming a new modus operandi. Comparing the
lyric content of gangsta rap musics foundational period of that Eminem shows the following: In
terms of violent and misogynist lyrics, gangsta rap (1987-1993) scores a 22 while Eminem
(2000) scores a 78%.

According to Some Teens Are At Greater Risk A concern to many interested in the
development and growth of teenagers is the negative and destructive themes of some kinds of
music (rock, heavy metal, hip-hop, etc.) including the best-selling albums promoted by major
recording companies. Music is not usually a danger for teenagers when their life is balanced and
Ellsworth 3

healthy. But if a teenager is persistently preoccupied with music that has seriously destructive
themes, and there are changes in behavior as in isolation, depression, alcohol or other drug use,
evaluation by a qualified mental health professional should be considered. Behavioral
Problems and Academic Achievements claims that listening to rap or heavy metal has not been
shown to increase suicidal ideation and anxiety or adversely affect self-esteem among people in
their early 20s to mid 20s. Some studies show that some kids who listen to non rap music songs,
they mostly get depressed more than kids who listen to rap music. Overall, if you listen to rap
songs, you are more inclined to have angry emotions.
Rap music has been tested over the years to see if it affects teens to become
violent and it normally does not affect them. The number of studies that has been performed on
kids and rap music is endless. Many scientist and parents would like a hundred percent answer
on if the music is causing their behavioral issues or not. Some parents result to not allowing their
kids to listen to any type of violent music but that may just cause the kids to go and listen to it
more.

Ellsworth 4

Works Cited

Copley, Jennifer. "Listening to Rap Music Does Not Make Teens Violent." Violence in the Media.
Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Current Controversies.
Rpt. from "Music Psychology: Rap Music." Metaphoricalplatypus.com. 2011. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Oct. 2016.

Copley, Jennifer. "Violent Rap Lyrics Do Not Affect Listener Behavior or Attitudes." Rap and
Hip-Hop. Ed. Tamara Thompson. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Current Controversies. Rpt.
from "Rap Music's Psychological Effects: Research into Mood, Behavior, Crime, Violence and
Gender Relations." jennifercopley.suite101.com. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4
Oct. 2016.

Robinson, Matthew. "There Is a Link Between Violent Lyrics and Violent Behavior." Violence in
the Media. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Current
Controversies. Rpt. from "A Look at Violence in Music." mediacriminaljustice.blogspot.com 20
Apr. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Oct. 2016.