Drugs and Violence in Music

The problem is the new wave of lyrical content in rap music and music in general in recent years and young kids being influenced by this music. Constant mention of drugs, violence, sex and money have been present in music in years, but since the introduction of the internet and new music platforms it has given an opportunity for artists to extend their music across the world in the matter of seconds. That combined with both the new wave of rapping about being addicted to pills, rapping about killing and beating people, and the fact that anyone can record a song nowadays, has created a generation of drug addicted, violent youth. Rappers (not all, some have already made this realization) have to realize the amount of influence the youth and rethink about the image they are putting out through their music.

More people than you think. More specifically, the impressionable fans of rap music who are mostly teens, or the youth. With the addition of the internet, rappers have the ability to share their music with (almost) entire world within seconds. The fact that more people than ever are listening to music in addition to raps violent and unsafe lyrical content is not a good combination. It has created a generation of pill addicted, money chasing and violent youth.

Drug use in rap music is nothing new. Rappers have always been open about the drugs that they take, as well as the other illegal activities involving drugs that they may have been involved in. As we progress over the years, we see rappers promoting, glorifying, or telling new stories about new drugs. First we had the use of Marijuana, which is still popularized in rap music nowadays, but is more recently accepted in recent years. Then when the boom of crack cocaine in the 80's rap music saw a new trend of talking about selling drugs. This trend started with rappers like Notorious B.I.G and Jay z and is still relevant today with rappers across the world talking about their dealing of drugs. Moving onto the 2000's and 2010's the glorifying wildly addictive drugs like xanax and lean became all too common in rap music. This has lead to countless deaths, many of which in the rap community. Rappers like Lil Peep, Mac Miller and most recently JuiceWrld ( who was in the process of quitting drugs) have passed away due to the use of the same drugs constantly mentioned in their music and problems with addiction. The mention of addictive pills like xanax and percocets along with other drugs have led to countless addictions. The constant mention of drugs, whether it be the use of or selling of drugs has left an imprint on the music world, and subquentially influenced thousands of people to partake in the world of drugs. Research done by NorthWestern university proves the constant rise of drug mention in rap music. It details that in the early 80's, 11 percent of the 40 most popular rap songs contained lyrics about drugs. By the late 80's this number jumped up to 19 percent. From there, it skyrocketed as in 1993, 70 precent of rap music contained lyrics about rap music. Nowadays, around 85 percent of the most popular rap songs contain lyrics about drugs.

The purpose of this map is to detail the most popular and influential places in hip hops history. Each different city has a different style, story, and lyrical content which overall make up the hip hop culture. New York, which is the birthplace of hip hop. Los Angles, who is often credited for popularizing hip hop with their west coast style. London, England and the U.K in generally for introducing "drill rap". Atlanta for the countless rappers who have influenced the new wave of music. And finally Toronto, who has taken a bit of style from all over the world and made it their own. With these cities having amazing contributions to rap and music in general that these cities have made, there are countless negative and irresponsible ideas and ideologies that have come out of these cities. New York, notoriously one of the most violent cities in the world has constantly been blamed for the violent nature of rap music. Los Angeles is often blamed for introducing gang violence and affiliation into rap. London rap music has been at the centre of attention after a recent spike in violent crimes, as many blame this on the recent popularization of drill rap which usually contains details about violent crimes and drugs. Atlanta, who undoubtably started the "lean" movement in rap (lean which is promethazine and codine mixed with soda) which took off bigger than ever and normalized the use of lean, and other addictive pills. And finally Toronto, whose music is often based around drug dealing and violence, has seen a staggering spike in violence and gun violence.

Violence has always played a part in the culture created by rap music. Whether it be gun violence or physical violence it has always been a part of this genre. A big part of why violence is mentioned a lot in rap music is because it sells. People like to listen to lyrics of this nature, and for most people explore a world that they are not a part of. The use of violence in rap music has been taken to a new level recently. An example of this would be rapper Tay-K who was is facing up to 50 years in prison. This is over a murder case he famously explained on the song "The race". This song was brought up in his case, and used as evidence against him. Another example of violence in rap music is NLE Choppa, a Memphis rapper whose name was inspired by a firearm. The 17 year old rappers only focus in music is violence, and more specifically gun violence. He in known for his simple beats, loud vocals, and aggressive lyrics. Some of the most popular rappers of all time like Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur lost their lives due to violence, and it is blamed on the music industry. In recent years, we have lost rappers like XXXtentation, Nipsey Hussle, and Bankroll Fresh to violence. Closer to home, rapper Stenno who appeared on a track with famous Toronto rapper Astrokiddjay was shot and killed only two months ago. These tragedies have not halted the mention of violence in rap music, as rappers still mention acts of violence and murder constantly in their music.

Lets start with the record companies. From an economic point of view, edgy content like violence and drugs in rap music is a weapon. Drugs and violence sells music. It's proven by the recent rise in hip hop, and how songs with very violent and drug filled lyrics are constantly making the billboard charts top 100 songs every week. Record companies will do anything to sell music, including promoting your client, or rapper to talk about violent and inappropriate themes to sell records. So from the point of view of a record company having your clients rap about these things, and portray themselves as gang members is the best thing for business and will generate the most income. Obviously, not all groups are as appreciative of this. Socially, rap is still not fully accepted. There are still many who believe that it is not music, or that the themes that commonly appear in rap should not be broadcasted to the world. Often, the media represents rappers as criminals and gang members, adding to the fact that the world still can't fully socially accept rap. For the fans of rap music, this wave of extreme violence and drug themed songs are adding to the culture. Each type of music has it's main following of mainstream artists, but there are thousands of others who have immense underground success. This is especially true in the rap world, as the addition of the internet and popular rap related since and podcasts such as no jumper, sway in the morning etc. have given rappers of all levels of fame the opportunity to share their music. And finally, how does the political world view this type of aggression in music? For years and years, many politicians have been outspoken about rap music, claiming that the themes presented in rap are inappropriate and dangerous for listeners. There have even been many supreme court arguments about rap music, including one in 2006 where rapper Eminems lyrics about a fictional story were put into question, and the goal was to see if anything needs to be done about this type of music. Although nothing came from it. In recent years, there has been a slight shift in politicians views on rap music. Former president of the United States Barrack Obama puts out a list every year of his top 25 favourite songs of the year, and always over half of the list is hip hop. This combined with the then president inviting rappers like Kendrick Lamar to the White House, there have been advancments in the acceptance and understanding of rap music in general. Although, this does not mean that Barrack Obama approves of all rap music, as he previously has said that some of it's themes are highly inappropriate.

This culture of drug use and violence in rap music has influenced listeners in many ways, like towards the use of drugs and acts of violence. A study conducted in 2006 by Mr. David Jernigan, (Executive Director, Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, Georgetown University) concluded that rap music is linked to alcohol addiction, drug use and violence among young people. Jernigan says that rap musics inappropriate themes have led to a more violent generation. Although of course rap cannot be soley blamed for recent jumps in violence in cities where rap reigns supreme, but you cannot simply deny the fact that the ideas and images that rappers are putting out to their fans are influencing listeners. A article written by the American Psychological Association outlines research done by the Iowa State University and the Texas Department of Human Services. This research concluded that listening to aggressive music with aggressive lyrics increases aggressive thoughts and feelings, which often turn into aggressive and violent actions. Now, for how rap music has influenced drug use and drug involvement in generally. Many rappers come from difficult situations, and often come from areas of high gang activity and are involved in that life. So their music often involves talks about their drug dealing. This has influenced listeners to start selling drugs, because the rappers make it seem like it's so cool, and they make so much money off of it. Another example of rappers talking about their struggles is lyrics glorifying drugs, or speaking about problems with addicitons. This has led to a generation of kids who think drugs like xanax, percocets, lean and more are "cool" things to do. An example of this would be the jump of use of xanax in the United States. Ever since rappers have started to glorify xanax, there has been a jump in the use of the drug among teens. It is reported that in 2017, around 4 years after the start of the xanax movement in rap, 8% of teens in the United States took tranquilizers or sedatives, aka xanax and other pills alike. This is an obvious relation between rap music glorifying drugs and drug use among the main demographic of listeners to this genre. Rap music often influences listerners to be somebody that they're not, and try to portray a false image to the world. Whether this is done through violence or drug use, it is dangerous anyway you look at it.

By no means do I solely blame rappers for this culture. The opposing view would be that rappers should not be responsible for the new generation acting out, as they are simply talking about their personal experiences, telling stories of people they knew, and trying to express themselves. The constant mention of violence for many rappers is simply a result of what they are seeing and experiencing around them. The talk of drug dealing can be a result of the areas or families grew up in. The talk of drug use could be a cry for help from addiction, or trying to tell a story of the times they've had with these substances. This life style is not for everyone, and they don't want it to be for everything. This is their culture, and they are simply telling stories about their experiences. Rappers are constantly being blamed for the popularization of explicit lyrics in songs, but they argue that this is nothing new, yet they are still being solely blamed for it. During a Supreme Court Argument against rap music, rapper killer Mike infamousley said “Outlaw country music is given much more poetic license than gangster rap, and I listen to both, and I can tell you that the lyrics are dark and brutal when Johnny Cash describes shooting a man in Reno just to watch him die and when Ice Cube rapped about a drive-by shooting early in his career.”

In conlusion, this discussion is a slippery slope. It is evident that rap has influenced the culture in positive, but more notoriously negative ways. With the constant mention of drugs and violence in rap music, it has created a culture of violent and drug addicted youth. So, are we willing to sacrifice the authenticity and roots of rap to protect our youth from these inappropriate ideologies? No. At least I do not believe this could ever happen, or would end the problem. Rappers need the realize how much influence they have on the fans, and the fact that most of their fans are young teens. Glorifying addictive drugs like xanax creates a stigma around the drug that it's a cool thing to do. Glorifying the fact that you have, or will kill somebody over gang violence makes it seem like a cool thing to do. In reality, it's not, and it's not a life for someone who has no business being involved in those things. These artists do not need to stop mentioning violence and drugs in their music, but they need to find a way to express it in a way that they are not trying to make these things "cool" or in style, they are simply talking about the hardship and experiences they have been through. So to see a change in the influence rappers are having on these kids, two changes need to be made. The first would be that the artists need to truly realize the influence they have, and try to use it in a positive way. They do not need to stop including drugs and violence in songs, but do it in ways that doesn't glorify it and make it clear that this is your personal experience of life. Influence goes past music, and nowadays many rappers are constantly uploading pictures to social media of drugs, money, and girls which could send out the wrong message to their fans. The next thing that needs to be done is we need a better education system around music. In school we are taught to sing cute kid songs, then learn to play instruments in music class. We are barely taught about the history of music, the different types of music from around the world and the stories that these artists have to share. By educating the youth about music from around the world, from different cultures, who have different stories to tell would create a better understanding on music in general, and how it is used to express an area in the world and the stories and struggles of this area, or a period of time. Combining artists taking responsibility on the influence they have on fans as well as the education about the art of music from around the world, it would overall affect the fans of music and members of the music culture in a positive way.

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Jenkins, Craig. “The New Wave of Rap Violence Shouldn't Be Ignored.” Vulture, Vulture, 19 June 2018, www.vulture.com/2018/06/xxxtentacion-tay-k-and-the-new-wave-of-violent-rap.html.

Levy, Lauren. “These Are the Drugs Influencing Pop Culture Now.” Vulture, 6 Feb. 2018, www.vulture.com/2018/02/the-drugs-influencing-pop-culture-right-now.html.

Liptak, Adam. “Hip-Hop Artists Give the Supreme Court a Primer on Rap Music.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Mar. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/us/politics/supreme-court-rap-music.html.

“Violent Songs May Lead to Violent Behaviour.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, 2017, www.apa.org/monitor/julaug03/violent.