Comments on: Is Rap Music The Problem?

By: William

William — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:17:16 +0000

People liked to surprised and usually horrible news does that.

By: William

William — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 02:48:57 +0000

I think Cosby was probably expecting that the book would fire up the market that is full people who want to be angry at something.

After all, in the end you’d get a bunch of angry people trying to fight your fight and you’d sell more books in the end.

By: billywest

billywest — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:55:05 +0000

Even if in some cases rap music (or violent video games, or whatever…) influenced some criminal act, it’s more likely than not the person who carried out the act had some underlying problems that were not created by the music.

People who seek to assign blame regarding causes in the so-called breakdown of society will always miss the point; societies get broken down and they get built back up. Such has always been the way. And people like Cosby have always been around to point the finger. This was the point of ‘No Country For Old Men,’ by Cormac McCarthy; Some get older and grow tired of trying to understand, adapt, and fit into a changing society, so they reach a point and say, “Hey, the world’s going to hell, man! Things just aint the way they used to be. When I was young, people knew what was right and what was wrong.” It’s as if they want to absolve themselves of any responsibility for having become feeble and just seek out the best scapegoats possible: youth and youth culture.

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:31:36 +0000

I agree with what you said about music being a reflection of reality and not a shaping force for it, but at the same time I also think that people who listen to that kind of stuff on a regular basis would be more likely to engage in those acts. However, are they more likely to engage in those acts because they listen to the music or do they listen to the music because they are the type of person that would engage in those acts? For example: Are people more likely to become cowboys and buy a tractor because they listen to country music or do they listen to country music because they ride horses and drive tractors?

While I think there are some who would fall into the category of the former, my guess would be that the majority would fall into the latter category.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:38:29 +0000

In the 70’s the theme of the day in pop music was love, peace and unity. That said, this was also the era that the number of murders in the major US cities peaked. They’ve been going down across the board since then. Clearly people who listened to the stuff in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s were de-sensitized to love.

I don’t discount your argument that people who are bombarded with a culture day in and day out become desensitized to it, however, Cosby’s assertion is that rap music is the root cause for people to maintain the lifestyle. To this end, he’s even gone so far as to fund a rap album of his own.

While his cause is a noble one, his assertions are misguided and his “facts” are incredibly biased and taken way out of context of their original study

By: tornadoes28

tornadoes28 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:25:40 +0000

I don’t know how much if any rap music contributes to social ills. However,regarding your statement,

“and to say that rap music is to blame for the state of America is about as insightful as saying cream cheese is responsible for America’s obesity epidemic.”

I don’t think Cosby or anyomne else states that rap is responsible for society’s ills. They feel it is just one of many issues that contribute to problems in the community.

I listened to hard core rap when I was younger and I did not go out raping and pillaging. However, I do feel that people are constantly hearing music or watching movies and video games about violence, that they become desensitized to it. And this can lead to someone more willing to accept or engage in violence or criminal behavior.