Music has a key role in speech and communication since it may be used as a way to pass information to a group of people that may not be understood by some others. Rap is one of the most used genres in giving information to a set of people mostly the teenagers. The young generation is a group that is mostly attracted to rap music; hence, the artists use it to pass information to the teens that the older people may not fully understand. The songs influence the way the teens communicate because they bring new vocabularies and understanding.
Effects of rap music on the speech of individuals can be either negative or positive depending on the message passed by the song and the knowledge of a listener. People should listen to rap music, which is in accordance to their moral values and advise their children to avoid anything that has a negative message because it defines their morals. Every individual has control of his or her mind concerning what to listen to; hence, rap music cannot be entirely accused of damaging the morals.
Some rap musicians have clean lyrics and rap about the positives of life. The message from these artists such as Will Smith is very useful to the kids such as openly speaking against including vulgar language in the music. The moral-encouraging artists are influential in the industry since they motivate the others to ensure the children have better lives and use the vocabularies that are not damaging to their behaviors such as abusive words (Daveyd). The morally upright songs act as an honest advice to the other rap musicians, and the kids who listen to the music and appreciate it, end up acquiring good morals and noticing the downside of the abusive music and can avoid it with much ease. Parents should not discourage their kids from rap compositions, but should analyze them to determine the one with positive or adverse effects and then advise their kids accordingly.
Rap music originated from poetry, but some of the artists have distorted it to suit their needs. Poetic messages are known for their positive influence on the culture of a group. People who appreciate poems can quickly acquire new vocabularies, which can be used in their speech and other forms of communications (Kennett). The individuals who have distorted the rap music have brought the aspect of gang life and violence. However, it should not be banned from the teens because it helps in speech improvement. The parents should listen to the music their kids like, and determine the effects of the message communicated. New vocabularies emerge from the music because it involves a mix-up of varying cultures and wordings to come up with new words that are given different meaning in life. In the U.S culture and the whole world in general, rappers use acronyms and slang in their songs, and they have influenced the mode of communication. When the teenagers listen to the new music that is very catchy, they get the tunes stuck in their minds and are easily incorporated into their speech. In addition, if the trend continues, there is the likelihood of a new language developing in life, which may influence communication or even change it for good, and it may be useful when groups want to communicate some messages they do not want to be understood outside the group.
Kids can use rap as a learning example and for empowerment. Positive-minded kids get involved in the music and use it as a learning instrument because when they listen to it, they get the message that is passed and do an evaluation to see its negative or positive effects before making any reactions (Travis). If the kids are morally upright and see violence in the music and its effects such as death, they are likely to try their best to keep off from the risky acts that may bring them the adverse effects.
In the current world, rap music has been endorsed by gospel musicians. The artists pass ethical messages that can positively influence the speech and communication. The gospel rap may act as a way to impact the teens and make them develop upright behaviors and communications. Gospel is an alternative for the people who are lovers of rap but do not appreciate the gang and violence-related music. In the new generation, peer pressure is a critical issue and kids are easy targets of the same. When children are influenced to listen to rap music, the well-behaved ones will choose the gospel, and later they may influence their friends who are involved in abusive music; hence, there is the likelihood of a big number engaging in the gospels and having Christian values in their speech and behavior.
Some musicians have made rap music to be associated with all the bad things in life such as drugs, gangs, and provocative dressing. Communication can be linked to the attire an individual dresses because the dress-code of a person gives a true picture of him or herself. Rap music is associated with skimpy dressing and nudity; hence, when the kids watch it, they may want to be linked to it, and end up dressing in a similar manner. People or teens who are dressed in micro-mini clothes communicate negatively, the same way speech communication may do. A person dressed in blazers is assumed to be a profession, while on the contrary, those who are in sagged jeans may be termed unprofessional, carefree, or thugs. Most of the teens in the world have been affected by rap music and dress unprofessionally, which make them un-presentable when they go to seek for employment and may make them remain unemployed for long durations.
The association of rap genre with gangsters and riches make the teens covet being rich and associate themselves with such life. The young people may lack ways to make the riches; hence, they will be easily influenced to venture in crimes and drugs to make the extra cash. The involvement of the teens in gangs has a negative influence on their morals and the way they communicate with the families and friends. As the kids grow with the rap music mentality, they are easy targets of drug dealers as they look for cheaper and faster ways to be rich, and at the end, some of them die young from police raids and conflicts between the opposing gangs.
Teenagers who like rap music may be influenced into insecure sex and unwanted babies. In most of the secular rap music, women are assumed as sex tools, which is evident by them dancing nude or semi-nude around the artists and being touched anyhow without them resisting. The kids may develop the same attitude that makes them lack respect to the ladies and may lead to harassments and sexual abuse that may result in unwanted pregnancies, prostitution, and crimes.
Conclusion
Rap music is a hit all over the world, and it is mostly listened to by the young generation who are easily influenced by peer pressure. Any music can have a negative or positive effect depending on the understanding of the listeners and the message that the artist passes. People associate rap music with negative morals such as crime, violence, drugs, and bad dressing habits, but this is not true because even other genres may have similar characteristics. It is the duty of the music lovers, mostly the teens to avoid peer pressure and choose the music they want to listen to because there are different types of rap such as gospel that has a positive message (Dworjan). Parents and siblings can help minimize the adverse effects of rap music on their kids by carefully monitoring and listening to the rap music their children enjoy and then advising them accordingly, but they should avoid criticizing them or punishments. The vocabularies that are got from the rap music may be damaging, but some of them are useful in speech and communication; hence, the users should have a clear understanding of the slang and their meaning before applying them in their daily life. When rap music is well understood and used, there will be minimal effects that are not conducive to the kids.
Work Cited
Daveyd. "Is Rap Actually Music or is it a Bad Influence? - Hip-Hop and Politics". Hip-Hop and Politics. N.p., 2006. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Dworjan, Tania. "Music's Effect on Teenagers". LoveToKnow. N.p., 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Kennett, C. "Book Review. Rap Music and the Poetics of Identity. A Krims". Music and Letters 82.2 (2001): 352-356. Web.
Travis, Raphael. "Rap Music and the Empowerment of Today’S Youth: Evidence in Everyday Music Listening, Music Therapy, And Commercial Rap Music". Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 30.2 (2012): 139-167. Web.
