rap a bad influence for teens?

[TAlderson]

Originally Posted by Smidgelton

It was the most brain damaging experience of my life.? And I've yet to meet a rap listener with any intelligence.

I have.

There are intelligent rap listeners and musicians. I'd calssify most rap that you hear on the radio as pop instead of rap. It's kind of like what Avril Levigne is to Rock. Listen to some independent and older rap, and there are many songs just as intelligent and interesting as a rock song.

-Tyler

[lumpy]

Rap has went to hell since the Fat Boyz broke up.

Lump

[Smidgelton]

Good Rap/Hip Hop: Jurassic 5

Listen to them. I just dug up my CD.

[brandondrury]

I'm not sure that I'd equate "intelligence" with any kind of music. I use books for that. For me, music is entertainment, and intelligence has nothing to do with it.

Brandon

[TAlderson]

I actually tend to think of today's music as a kind of poetry. I mean, it is musical, but the real essence of today's music (at least, a lot of it), lies in the lyrics. So in some respects, I think that there has to be a certain "intelligence" in a song. And I think many rap songs have that.

-Tyler

[musichead]

To me, the only bad influence is to be kept from knowledge of any kind. Have to agree with Brandon on the issue that nudity and bad language are not such a big deal... if you keep your kids from listening, or if you forbid anything to them, they will become obsessed with it. Prohibition is invitation... It's like if governments kept you from knowing the truth about extraterrestrial life, would you like that? Just because someone thinks "you are not ready to face this" doesn't mean they've got the right to hide it from you... political assassinations, for instance. Or how about going to war under false pretenses? I say, ugly as it is, don't hide the truth from your kids... cause they will find it out eventually, and then they will hate you for hiding it... Instead, you could be a guide, someone to talk to about these things... otherwise you will just be a hipocrite to them. Don't tell them the same lies you've been told.

[gradgt]

Is rap a bad influence for teens? The short answer, yes.

And it's not the language or nudity that's a bad influence, those things don't matter. It's the glorification of a lifestyle which ruins society. Think how much the world would blow if everyone behaved in the way that hip hop is selling.

[musichead]

Yes, the world would suck if everybody acted as rappers say. But it would also suck if everybody dressed in white shirt and marine blue tie... If all the world acted in ONE WAY, no matter which, it would blow... What makes life interesting is variety. To be honest, I've never ever willingly listened to a complete hip hop album, and maybe I never will, but that doesn't mean you should prevent your kids from doing so... if you do, then also don't let them watch CNN, listen to Nick Cave, Manson, Guns (sigh, the name of that band implies weapons!), Diamanda Galás, reading William Burroughs... etc.... and then their world will be just about Britney and the Muppets, and that's sad. There's no safe place in this world anymore, so we better get acquainted (sorry for bad spelling, i am just a dumb mexican) with reality as soon as possible. This world will face much graver dangers than bad poetry... and applying the BIG BROTHER treatment to your kids will only turn them into ignorance... you cannot cover the sun with one finger, but anyways, what do i care? i don't listen to that trash and i don't have kids. If you want your kids to grow sane, then prevent them from junk food, so that their well fed brains will be able to realise that hip hop living is just a fantasy.

[gradgt]

The question was, "is it a bad influence?". Not "should you prevent your children from listening to it?". The answer is yes, it is a bad influence.