Effects of Rap Lyrics on Adolescents' Behavior and Values - Research Paper Example

The hip-hop genre of music has a decorated history of more than 40 years and has come quite a long journey from only being recognized in the streets of Bronx and Brooklyn in the USA. Although this music genre is mostly known for its negative input on society, it has a massive following with the youth who are, in fact, the majority fanbase for it. Through this genre of music, individuals have come to receive vivid accounts of the average citizen and study more about how they live their everyday life. The genre of music tackles an array of issues that society faces today, ranging from politics, sports, relationships, religion, history, and culture, as well as current affairs. It has in many instances served as the human eye to society and has exposed a number of issues. The issues include corruption, political scandals, social injustices, mistreatment by law enforcement officers, and other societal mishappenings that regularly occur.

Through this form of music, society has been able to learn a lot about the minority population and the lifestyle they live. In addition to that, it is easy to understand the various struggles, that they go through in their normal daily lives. Key among the issues they face such as unemployment, insecurity, discrimination and stereotyping, constant harassment by the law enforcement, as well as lack of opportunities to progress (Gullotta et al. 82). Through this music, one gets to understand more about these concerns, as well as possible avenues through which these issues can be addressed and tackled. Therefore, though little is actually known as to why such music is still relevant in contemporary society, it is necessary to understand that in its way, it serves a unique purpose in a particular part of the urban demographic. Many scholars have taken the time to study more about this genre of music, the history behind its formation, how it evolved to be what it is today, as well as what makes it relevant up to today.