... the white kids of suburbia and taught them about a whole other world that they could never conceive. Compton. With this came the movement of gangsta rap, with its hard-hitting lyrics, and truthful story telling. In the height of this period, it was evident that the white population bought into ... it. A statistic done in 1992 stated that whites bought 75 percent of Hip Hop albums.3 There seemed to be a rising market for rap music, which was astonishingly occupied by whites, and the farther away the lyrics were from the suburban-white way of life, the more a demand ... platinum Rolls Royc...

• Word Count: 2020
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• Grade Level: High School

... this day. The reasons that people believe such things are all due to the music that he produces or is associated with, which is completely unfair. Rap music, just like any other genre of music, is simply a form of entertainment which should not be taken so seriously to people. For example, ... wanna f*** with Shady (his nickname), cause Shady, will f***** kill you,"" anger the average person that knows nothing about hip-hop culture, but to the regular rap listener, those words are nothing but another set of lyrics being heard over a track of music. "When Eartha Kitt salaciously sings "Sa...

• Word Count: 1369
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... press. The cultural majority in America is up in arms over the rising levels of violence and horrific images that are portrayed in these hard core rap songs. "This style developed in Los Angeles in 1987, partly in response to drug-related news stories that represented, at least for many African ... American communities, a one-sided portrait of life in urban America" (Campbell, 94). Support of this rap form by teens grew in 1996 when Tupac Shakur was killed and even more in 1997 with the murder of Christopher Wallace a.k.a. Biggie Smalls (Notorious ... and keep the peace between gang mem...

• Word Count: 2749
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• Has Bibliography

... to express it in their music. This is all these artists have ever known; it is what they lived through, so obviously, this is what they rap about. These artists are not necessarily trying to offend any particular person or group, nor are they trying to deter youth to the immoral ways of society. ... These artists are merely expressing what they know and how they lived in a form of entertainment. Rap is their outlet for anger. However, rap is the most censored form of music on the market today. Censorship of any form does not allow the people to decide, with their ... not allow people to ...

• Word Count: 2197
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... the minds of young listeners everywhere. During the 80's, punk bands began to take over the music scene. The media then directed the blame towards the new artists. In 1988, rap was invented. The media also changed their views on who to blame. They broadcast several stories on the news, on how new age music was affecting the lives of the ... next generation. Soon blame was put on the African American rap artists, believing that they were poisoning today's youth. Rap music was becoming known as a bleak way for someone to express themselves, labeling rap as the newest rebel music. People w...

• Word Count: 457
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Under Siege 3). Most of the early problems with censorship were in the early 1950's. The 90's are the most controversial decade dealing with the censorship of music. The rap group "2 Live Crew" was the target for the censorship bureau in the time. The groups lyrics weren't as violent, but more explicit. The album "Me So ... Horny" was illegal to sale in couple of states like Alabama and Florida. In the 90's rap music was taking all the heat for music censorship. Rappers such as Ice-T, Public Enemy, and N.W.A. were getting the majority of the heat in the hip-hop ... Don't get me wrong I"...

• Word Count: 680
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• Grade Level: High School

... dressing and mimicking the actions of these idols. There have been numerous stories flooding the news about teenagers committing suicide or hate crimes due to certain song lyrics among the rap and rock genres. Many rappers do not serve as good role models for the children that listen to their music. For example, Tupac Shakur, who was sentenced to jail for ... days for the failed attempt of hitting a man with a baseball bat during a concert, or Ice Cube, who killed a man at a bowling alley, these two men are very popular among the rap community and countless children look up to them as i...

• Word Count: 874
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... made up some stupid excuse, saying movies and singers provoked their children. In my opinion, I listen to all sorts of music especially rap, but I never act upon the lyrics. Before I turned twenty-one I drank alcohol. In a lot of the rap songs they always talk about drinking and that sort of stuff. But I drank because I wanted to, I liked it and we were kids ... that loved to party. Our group never was caught but if we were to, would we blame it on a rap video we saw? No way, it's unbelieveable how irresponsible some people are. If a kid does act upon a movie or music video then they ha...

• Word Count: 777
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... the artists as black thugs that keep African Americans in the majority of bad press. This is stated in Tricia Ross' book Black Noise in which she states, The way rap and rap-related violence are discussed in the popular media is fundamentally linked to a larger social discourse on the spacial control of black people' (Ross, 1994, p125) Ross believes that although ... watch or listen to. This has caused for censorship groups such as Calvin Butts, a Harlem minister of the Abyssynian Baptist church who has tried to ban the black community of rap music, because of its harmful effects on tod...

• Word Count: 1948
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... to do that. The media and the movies are not the only things that seem to give people the wrong impression. The music business is something that always gets a bad rap. A lot of the music out is about people's real life, or something they feel like they have to create a fantasy world because their life is or was really bad. Gangsta ... rap is the genera of music that catches the most flack about how violent it is. The things that these songs are about are real life to these people and how ... they still live. Most rap music is about the problems is urban environments. There is not much ...

• Word Count: 802
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• Grade Level: High School

... his lyrics don't depict any sort of violent action. One of these fans stated Manson's message within his lyrics is, "not a negative message, and I"d rather her listen to him than rap where they degrade women by calling them b**ch or "pop a cap in you"re a**" so the band's not bad and if there's any influence it positive not negative" (Sympathy For ... chains such as Wal-Mart, have banned several artists, such as Marilyn Manson, from their music shelves and are also sellers of edited CDs and tapes, many of which are rap labels. These edited labels, usually those that would contain the Pa...

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... September 1995, Warner music group bowed to public pressure and announced it was severing its 50% stake in Interscope records; home to Nine inch nails and controversial rap artists Snoop Doggy Dog and Dr. Dre. Rap artists simply turned to a different distribution of network and their CDs continue to hit the stores with lyrics, which glorify guns, rape and murder. Every generation ... ...

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... despite rating systems that are supposed to discourage sales to minors, Ms. Rosen said simply, "we don't do that."" Music also expresses a culture that otherwise has glorified guns and violence. Rap has produced a whole crop of young people who probably never heard of Al Capone or John Dillinger but who still think meanness and being a gangster is cool. Music is created ... make a statement to others who don't belong, to an older generation "to insult, to place blame, as the early protest songs did "and sometimes to threaten, as many rap songs do. All messages have a target; all message...

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... beating each other up. Popular music has lost the element of fun which it always had before. One great example of how music has changed so greatly is in the rap by the artist Eminem titled Words are Weapons. In the song Eminem sings of how, "My words are weapons, I use them to crush my opponents, I never show no emotion- (Mathers ... ...

• Word Count: 846
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the special interests of the child. From an ethical perspective, indecency and obscenity are not essential to the communication of socially relevant messages to adolescents, even within hip-hop or rap. However, the challenge for media practitioners, in an era of liberated youth, is to develop artistic models that avoid the extremes of moral anarchy (Kieran 50). Television has also been ... ...

• Word Count: 2092
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... not since that has already been the case in more than one instance, but why? Is music capable of driving someone to kill? Could the lyrics of a rock band or rap group really give a person all the elements needed to step over the edge, past the point of rational thinking and give total disregard for social values and human life How ... ...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... hips during his time of fame, now though he is considered a revolutionary figure in music. Elvis" gyrating hips gave off the same message of sexual interest as the now popular rap artist Juvenile. Simply because people are being more direct in what they are discussing over mass media dose not change what it means....

• Word Count: 532
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... research out of context to show what they want to see, not what truly exists. Music censorship advocates use correlation studies as evidence when defending their beliefs. The correlation between rap and gang activity or heavy metal and suicide is a popular defense for censorship. While it is proven and well researched that certain types of music appeal more to certain types ... ...

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... offering that glorifies killing and fornicating with another person's wife." These lyrics are teaching the children who buy them that guns and degrading women is a way of life (Tucker). "Gangsta" rap is all about live a life of violence and indecency, and this is what the children of our society are looking up too. Music with lyrics, as harsh as these need ... ...

• Word Count: 1655
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• Grade Level: High School

... this time. Even though strong profanity in song lyrics can be traced as far back as the 1960s, it first became a major controversy in the 1980s, with the introduction of rap and heavy metal music. Many parents were concerned that these two forms of music were corrupting their children's minds with their lyrics which often had overt violent, sexual, and occult ... ...

• Word Count: 958
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... just want to play music, and deliver a message that may actually help someone; because that's what music is, it's not about the money or the glitter of fame, like most Rap and Rock stars would have you think. It's all about the music, and some bands have lost touch with that and that's why bands break up, and members leave. "I could ... ...

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... the forced hospitalization of Marilyn Manson fans, also advocating the classification of "Goth rock" fans as street gangs. In the same breath you could say that anyone who listens to rap music is automatically a gang-banger and should be arrested for wearing baggy jeans and a du-rag. It is without a doubt that these people are welcome to express their own opinions ... ...

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... . Additionally, I believe that there are many appalling artists out in the world of music, and there have been many mishaps in the lives they pursue. 50 Cent, a newcomer in the rap industry, grew up as a drug addict and promotes negative issues in his lyrics. In regards to the terrible artists and their derogatory music, people have to take the initiative of ... ...

• Word Count: 1325
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... violence among teenagers in schools. Sadly, most students listen to the same exact music and the same artists repeatedly. It is safe to say that most adolescents listen either to rap or rock. If so many are listening to this music that affects your behavior, why are so little people having outbursts? If looked at in a different perspective, most teens listen ... ...

• Word Count: 586
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... to censoring. Another reason censorship should not be practiced is because every person has different morals and past experiences, and these characteristics come in play when interpreting lyrics. "While some rap songs might be considered offensive by one group of people, they are reflections of reality to another (qtd. in D"Angelo 2). An example of this would be the music of Eminem ... ...

• Word Count: 1755
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• Has Bibliography