I think, as is the case in most issues divided by polarized opinion, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. After living in different parts of this world, I can understand the tension within many communities. Many of my neighbors hailed from various parts of the world and felt disillusioned by a government that is inherently racist. I could cite several instances where the police treated me differently because of my black skin. My experiences were both positive and negative but not everyone is as lucky as I have been. I knew Blacks who drove very expensive automobiles and were stopped for no reason, on numerous occassions other than: car was too new and expensive. Whereas I was in vehicles with my White friends who were over the limit, driving an expensive car and we were told to be careful and drive safely! Much of the music produced in response is aggressive in tone but not all. Many of us are more predisposed to reggae and the message that we hear are all the same, although perhaps naive, it represents a positive message that is rarely mentioned in the media. My point is this: we need sensible people from both sides to find mutually acceptable solutions to our problems. How can we expect progress to arise when the discourse is conducted by racist politician???s intent on 'protecting' their interests on one side, and extremely bitter, overly aggressive MC's on the other? We could also do with a more socially responsible media more intent on helping the situation rather than writing obvious, sensationalist articles on 'rap'.
Let us face it--music can influence many things and often amplifies emotions and the way that people behave. Love songs are used to create a romantic mood and can be used to make people happy or sad. Country???well I never understood country music, but in the same fashion dance, techno, drum, and base will incite people to act more energetically. So yes, music in general has a psychological impact on human beings, but not enough to make the majority want to go out and incite violence.
I feel that Rap and all music has a message, some music is discreet about its message and takes the listener time to fully understand, but rap is rather more up front about its message, and some times you have to be upfront if you want a result. Moreover, certainly maybe Rap has a result, but not the right one, all of the time. Then we could say that about Rock music, all music for that matter.
Rap has been given a Bad Rap for a long time.
Does life immitate art or art immitate life? Surely politicians should wise up to the conditions in the ghettos of the world and stop pretending that ANY music is entirely to blame for institionalised racism and rap music.
Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish! Lyrics have nothing to do with it, it's just an excuse. You're either a violent person or not.
When accusations open up, ears shut down, everyone has a point of view and rationality flies throught the window. When you make a choice, it's your responsibility. Like the conservatives who criticise the street culture in a poor way, same go for rioters who risked the lives of others. The rappers did little than narrate long standing misgivings, don't shoot the messengers, I say.
Everyone has a slant on how things should or should not be. But here it is...If you seek to decide what is "viable" or "suitable", well, then now we got some problems. It's called freedom of expression. You may not like the vavoom but likewise I hate country music. Should that be banned? Heck no. It's called ART. Who decides wether or not something is viable??? When rock music first came onto the seen, many people hated it, and said it was lude and should be banned. Come on now, we are a long ways from that. Stop the nonsesne.