Rock and rap: Are they good or bad things?

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  • #11204

    Diviana
    Participant
    I'm doing research on rock and rap music. Do you think these are negative or positive forces in society? I would appreciate a response. Please state whether you want your name used. Thanks.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Diviana, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 19, City : Huntsville, State : AL Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, 
    #23328

    Lucy-H22633
    Participant
    I believe that music is a barometer for what is going on in our society. People like to blame music for the problems in society - especially rock and rap music - but I think music reflects what already exists in society. A person can learn a lot about a specific time period by listening to the popular music of that time. So I think that rap and rock are positive aspects of society. Many people feel otherwise, but I think their feelings stem from a dislike of the type of music in general or a fear of the societal issues brought out in the music.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Lucy-H22633, Gender : F, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Age : 24, City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #35935

    Cassidy W.
    Member
    I'm a 17-yearold and love all different types of music. I don't feel that any one type can be considered a bad thing. Every different type of music reaches out to a different audience. Music all has a message, and it doesn't matter in what way it's presented. Although there are some negative mssages portrayed in rock and rap music, there are a lot of positive messages, too. But there is nowhere in the world where you will find anything existing in only its own honest form; there will be deviations in every element of life, music included.

    The rock and rap music of today is to many teenagers the silent voice within themselves; so many kids identify so strongly with some of today's bands and their messages. Who could ever see this as a bad thing?

    Although negative messages do exist, they are all around us in our world. It is not the rock and rap bands that 'poison our minds,' it is not these bands that inspire kids to get guns and shoot their schoolmates. Rock and rap bands today and their messages do not influence society, society influnces them.

    I hope my input could be of some use to you. You have my permission to use or publish my name and/or my comments. Good luck in your search.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Cassidy W., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 17, City : Peace River, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : High School Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, 
    #23182
    The lyrics within rock and rap can be interpreted and used as a negative or positive force. This depends on whether the listener is mentally strong or not. If the person is strong he/she can use a bad or negative situation that is told by the lyrics to benefit herself. If the person is weak then he/she may use that same situation to influence and rationalize their own negativities. I do feel that parents should censure the music that children listen to. This is because children can be easily influenced. Just remember rock and rap are given experiences that are being revealed and are given to society to deal with. So we either keep sweeping the issues under the rug or we deal with it as a whole.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Christine S., Gender : F, Age : 22, City : Bronx, State : NY Country : United States, 
    #46106

    Lenn
    Member
    I love all kinds of music, from all over the world. Rock and rap are just categories; they're neither good or bad. Within them are so many different levels of musicianship and styles, and kinds of messages. Some artists are concerned with making a 'positive' impact on people, which means helping people become more enlightened by understanding their feelings better, feeling freer via expression, being more accepting of themselves and others, etc. Some artists don't care what impact their music has on others, as long as they make lots of money. That goes for any category of music you can think of.

    It's unfortunate, don't you think, that when we think "rock," we think "white," and when we think "rap," we think "black" or "person of color." Black musicians in this country especially suffer from these categorizations. Check out the careers of people like Tracy Chapman or Dion Farris. Commercial music isn't a natural force like the sun or trees. It's a human-made thing, which means there's politics involved. Politics means power dynamics. There are many good books about the political history of music in this country. Did you know the roots of rock are in rhythm and blues, a music innovated by black people? Do you know who Chuck Berry is? Did you know that he did what Elvis Presley did before Elvis did it, but was only allowed have a certain amount of success, because he was black? Unfortunately, though music is pure, people are not. So, read, read and read some more. If you want to know some great books to get I can recommend some titles to you.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Lenn, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, City : Oakland, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #17995

    Adriana
    Participant
    I don't know about rap because I don't listen to it. I guess because I'm an optimist I would say rock can be a very positive force. But I say this only about the music I listen to. There is music with negative messages out there, but I usually don't listen to it because it doesn't appeal to me. Why should I listen to music that depresses me? I listen to music to relax and be inspired and forget about my problems. I guess you could say it's like a drug, but anyway, I think music is what you make it and how you take it. It upsets me to see rock music get such a bad name from the few so-called artists who choose to use it for negative purposes. Of course, even seemingly negative messages can be good. It depends on whether you take them for the truth, or you look at them from a distance, as in a message telling us how screwed-up the world is.

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    Name : Adriana, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 17, City : Harrisburg, State : PA Country : United States, 
    #25683

    Mandey
    Participant
    As much as I like music, I find much of the current stuff pretty disturbing. It is a reflection of society, so I guess that's why, but all the negativity can be pretty hard to take. And music has the power to shape situations, as well. I used to have some problems with rap music, until I realized it isn't really music so much as spoken word, and it makes a lot more sense now.

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    Name : Mandey, Gender : F, Age : 17, City : London, State : NA Country : Canada, 
    #42081

    Dan
    Participant
    This is just my opinion, not science. Here in Los Angeles, when gangsta rap first came out, the number of gang initiations went through the roof. Kids who formerly regarded gang life as stupid were suddenly turned on to it. Now that gangsta rap has gone the way of grunge, it's sort of leveled off. I feel that is a direct correlation. I don't know about Marylin Manson or Rammstein or all that, but I saw it with thug rap. With me, I started getting into death metal and synth industrial something awful back in my early teens, and I turned into a complete scumbag. I'm a nice scumbag now.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Dan, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : na, Race : Chicano, Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, 
    #18894

    Rob S.
    Member
    A friend hit the nail on the head when he said, "Rap is a black person's hard music, while rock and metal is a white person's hard music." Because of this they will tend to be about rough subjects; rap usually talks about life in the hood and gang-banging activities. But some groups will try to get positive messages across. Grandmaster Flash and Mele Mel were such a group. And rock and metal do talk about rough subjects, such as how violent society can be. Sepultura, from Brazil, makes most of its songs about how violent and corrupt Brazil can be.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Rob S., Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 26, City : Poole, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, 
    #44990

    Liz
    Participant
    As a big fan of all styles of music, I must admit that recently, perhaps over the last ten years, some rock music lyrics have taken a turn towards being more cynical and insulting. Some rap on the other hand, seems to be attempting to promote an attitude of racial segregation and sexism. The whole 'teen angst' ,'I'm depressed', 'I've got it so hard' thing has gotten tired and has me bored out of my mind, and this girl is not about to 'back that thing up'. It's turned me towards music without lyrics altogether. The thing is, the music heard on radio is a force fed 'product' more than likely on the air thanks to high stakes payola from a record company executive. The bottom line today is not based upon how capable or talented a musicain is, but how shocking or how much sex appeal a performer has. The problem is that music is produced to be seen, and hearing music has become secondary function. Thanks MTV.

    User Detail :  

    Name : Liz, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Unitarian, Age : 30, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : fashion designer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #21316

    ShirleyAvery
    Participant
    Jazz, rock, rap, classical, country-western, heavy metal, show tunes, etc - it's a matter of personal taste. I don't like rap in general for 2 reasons - a lot of rap lyrics celebrate violence and treating women like whores. That offends & scares me. Secondly, I like songs with melodies so well crafted, you can enjoy the music without the lyrics. Rap doesn't do it for me. You may use my name & demographic details. Just Curious

    User Detail :  

    Name : ShirleyAvery, Gender : F, Disability : none, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 52, City : st. louis, State : MO Country : United States, Occupation : writer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
    #80778

    Anonymous
    Inactive
    Many have responded in this manner, but... As a man that is pursuing a career in music production and has listened to countless bands from any conceivable genre, Music does not taint our society in any way. Music makes people dance and let loose. Yes, Future (a popular rapper) talking about "sipping ace of spades like it's water" could pop different ideas into kids heads, but kids that are raised on a solid base of positive values will realize that this is merely a reflection of a culture. Every person makes choices every day that lead them to where they are in the present. Music doesn't make people chose to do anything, people make choices, whether they're positive or negative for their well being as long as they feel like they're doing something. The real issue with young generations is that many don't realize the magnitude of their choices due to poor/a lack of substantial parental advice. I speak as a 19 year old that has gone through this exact dilemma in my personal life. Don't blame the music, because people act on their own accord.

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