Rap and Violence Go Hand In Hand
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Gangsta Rap and Violence Go Hand in Hand
“Mr. Officer, I want to see you layin in a coffin, sir,” from The Chronic and “F— the police,” from N.W.A., are few lyrics from the music genre “Gangsta rap.” This kind of music is being sold to young children without any thought of concern. When many children listen to this kind of music they think that was being said in the songs is not wrong or against the law. The lyrics in many songs contain violent and explicit lyrics that usually talk about killing someone along with sounds of gunshots in the background. It is also music that refers to women as “bitches,” “whores” and sex-dispensing “hos”(Saunders B29). “Gangsta rap ” has been criticized and debated over for its graphic sexual content, violent imagery and misogyny. When rappers were asked why they refer to women as bitches and hos their replies were similar. “Snoop” says, “that it is just for the women who are like that and if youre a real women, youre classy and elegant. Those lyrics wouldnt necessarily affect you. Youd just groove to the music” (Farley 78). Richard Shaw, Bushwick Bill, says: “I call women bitches and hos because all the women Ive met since Ive been out here are bitches and hos.” When asked, at the [National Association of Black Journalists] convention, what he calls his mother he says, “I call her a woman, but Im not f—ing my mother. If I was f—ing you, youd be a bitch.” He then apologized for what he said to the reporter. (Raspberry A21) “If you dont give a f— about a bitch/ Then youre rolling with the row”, are lyrics from
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Doggystyle. If all people were to think like this what respect would women have. Some say, “if we dont have respect for our women, why should anyone else?” (Raspberry A21). Do these rappers think that they own women and can treat them any way they want to. If this is the way some people think, that the own women and can dis respect them then what footsteps are the children going to follow in. Young children and adults, 14, 15 and 16 years of age, who listen and memorize these rap songs think that it is acceptable behavior. “Gangsta Rap” is hardly the only source of violence, but it is a potent one. Not only is the music violent but the rappers lifestyle is also. Many rappers have rap sheets and young people see that and say, “hey, their rich and money talks.” Today most young people think that if a person is rich and famous they can get away with anything.
Not all rappers have run-ins with the law, but the ones that do are very well known. Tupac Shakur, who recently was murdered this year, has had many run-ins with the law. Shakur was arrested for aggravated assault, charged with shooting two off duty police officers in Atlanta in 1993, but the charges were later dropped. He was accused of beating a limousine driver in Los Angeles and found guilty of threatening a fellow rapper with a baseball bat in Michigan. He was also found guilty of sexual abuse in 1994 and was serving time up to 4 Ð years in prison (Sims E3). In some raps he glamorized the life of a gangster and fun gunplay. He lived the life tattooed on his stomach, “Thug Life,” and died doing it. “Gangsta Rap” has attracted a high-profile of enemies and no one may ever know who really killed Tupak. The police are still not sure of who shot and killed Tupak, but they think that it may have been linked to Death Row Records ties with rival gangs. There are no witnesses who can identify the driver or shooter in
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the Cadillac that pulled up next to Tupak and driver, Marion Knight.
Calvin Broadus, better known as Snoop Doggy Dogg, was arrested in 1993 on murder-conspiracy charges. He pleaded not guilty and was acquitted. He also has a police file that
identifies him as a member of Long Beach Insane Crips, a notorious street gang (Cheevers A1). He was also a drug dealer and user. His music also glorifies violence and demeans women.
Andre Young, a.k.a. Dr. Dre, served five months in a halfway house in 1993 for violating his probation for breaking another rap producers jaw in 1992. He was also convicted of hitting a New Orleans police officer in a hotel brawl and of slamming a TV talk-show host into a wall at a Hollywood club in 1991 (Sims E3). His music demeans women and generates bad vibes against police officials.
The Chronic, an album by Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg, has many explicit lyrics and unnecessary foulmouthing. In one song they say, “that if you f— with Dre you f— with Death Row…”, more or less saying that if anyone messes with them they will have to worry about everyone that is with Death Row Records. In the same song they tell a woman, referring to her as a bitch, to yell-187 (police code for someone that has been killed). In another song they ask anther black man why he has been talking crap about them, he says it was not he. Then they put a gun in his mouth asking him, “whats wrong cant talk with a gun in your mouth?…Do you know Lucifer?”, he replies,”no”,and they tell him, “well youre about to meet him”(Rap). All of the songs on this album contain foulmouth language, violent and sexually explicit lyrics, drugs and misogyny.
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William Drayton, Flavor Flav of the group Public Enemy, was arrested for attempted murder. The police were lead to his home after a source told them that shots were fired at a neighbor during an argument. The police found a loaded 38-caliber semiautomatic handgun