My son enjoys rap music,
and he really enjoys the four-letter-word-laden, sexist, racist and
anti-everything kind that is popular among kids today. I don't really know why
he likes it--I have asked him the question, and he never really answered, other
than saying that "I just like it, I don't know"--but I suspect
because he knows it is something "dirty," and as a 13 year old, he is
attracted to doing something his parents don't approve of.
Have any of you heard some
of this garbage? I have told him many times that I don't care how much money
these guys have--and they have plenty--that this music really isn't music; it
is gutter garbage.
Now, I sound like an old
fuddy duddy, but if I do, so be it. This is not music, and although there might
be a beat that the kids like, I still think they are attracted to the
subversive nature of the lyrics (if they can understand them).
I would say that record
companies should police this garbage, but again, that is a free speech issue. I
guess even people with these mentalities have the right to say what they want
in this country.
However, the way they say
it is what bothers me the most. They appear to be completely inarticulate, and
must resort to using one curse word after another to get their point across.
And don't get me started about the constant use of the N-word in many of these
songs!
When I was a kid, plenty of
people spoke up through music about things they thought needed to be addressed.
Everyone from Bob Dylan to Marvin Gaye, from Phil Ochs to Stevie Wonder, sang
about things in their music that they felt were important. I am not saying that
these people were saints, but they used music to articulate their thoughts--and
they did them in at least a somewhat understandable tone (nod to Bob Dylan
here).
These rappers today,
"articulate" their thoughts through hatred. It's not the way to do
it.
And before anyone gets on the racist bandwagon,
I feel as strongly about Paul Wall's lack of real musical ability as I do 50
Cent, and the same goes for Eminem, whose popularity boggles my mind.
by labeling it "garbage" you made it all the more desirable.
ReplyDeleteI took issue with some truly lovely lyrics in an Eminem song. My then-teenage daughter tried to rationalize Mr. Mathers' behavior and attitude as reflected in the song. Rather than dismissing the song as "garbage", we had a discussion about the lyrics, what they meant and what other people involved in the sotry would think or feel.
Need I tell you that my now-22-year-old daughter is an ardent feminist?