Does Rap Music contribute to the negativity of our society?

I think we live in an new era where people are free to listen to whatever kind of music they choose. To say that one particular type of music contributes to the negativity of our society puts too much burden and blame on that particular type of music. To be honest, there is negativity in all types of music. It all boils down to the lyrics. And the good thing is that we all decide what we want and choose to listen. So my answer is no..

As a juvenile intake officer (I arrest kids), I can attest my own findings to this statement. I think that it does. You can select pretty much any study that has been done on the subject. Resarchers have found that teens who watched violent rap videos were more accepting of violent actions, particularly against women. The rappers sing about raping "hos" and beating them if they don't do what they want. This sends the message to kids that it's okay to treat women like dirt. Those who watched either violent or nonviolent rap videos were more inclined to express materialistic attitudes and think that it's okay to get material possessions through crime, as well as holding more negative views on the likelihood of succeeding through academic pursuits. The rappers make it seem like the "gangsta" lifestyle is the most glamourous thing out there. It's so much easier to knock over a gas station and buy that gold bling necklace than to get a high school diploma, move on to college, graduate and get a job like the rest of us do and then save up for that necklace. People swear up and down that the music is why people, specially the youth, resort to violent crimes. In some aspects I think this is true to a POINT. Not every child that listens to Eminem or whoever is popular these days will resort to a life of crime. I know millions of kids listened to Eminem rapping about putting his wife in a trunk in that song he co-sang with Dido. Did every person in America who heard that song shove their spouse into a trunk? No. Did it give someone an idea to do that? Sure. Did someone actually do that? Possibly. Even the SONG itself is about that. The song is about a fan writing a letter to a rapper singing about killing his girlfriend by putting her in the trunk of his car, then drowning her. The fan in the song is a man who is writing the letters does it to his girlfriend who is pregnant after the rapper doesn't respond back to his letters.

The same could be said for heavy metal and rock artists such as Marilyn Manson and others....So I say...don't just pin it on Rap music or the likes there of....all types of music contributes to negativity in our society.