Critique 1:Hip Hop causes violence

I would not say I agree with the title of this chapter, that hip-hop causes violence, but I can see where you can infer a correlation. There is no guy with a gun to your head telling you that you have to be violent after you listen to a rap Lil Wayne song. Rappers have the freedom of speech and can say whatever they like. However, the issue occurs when people don’t have a mind of their own and they take lyrics to heart, especially kids. I don’t think kids should be listening to gangster rap until they’re mature enough to see that this is just someone expressing him or herself, not something to go and do yourself. I like rap, I like the beat and I like the passion from some artists, but I would never let that passion influence me in my decision making of what is right and wrong. And just because Rick Ross says he’s done illegal things, the fact of the matter is that he was a correctional officer. Rap certainly does not cause violence but it certainly does not prevent it. There are definitely lyrics out there promoting violence especially towards police officers but that doesn’t mean the lyrics are based off true facts and even if they were, the rappers intention probably is not to make the listener shoot a cop. The high levels of unemployment unfortunately gave reason to the violence that did occur, people had to resort to dangerous and illegal activity to put food on the table. The poor housing situation also gave rise to violence, while blacks were segregated in certain areas their “slums” became an intense catalyst for a sense of community, but when those were taken away to build other institutions, homelessness and violence increased. It is almost unfair of “the boss’” to say rap causes violence when they caused the trauma that caused the violence.