Gangsta Rap, Censorship of Options

[illumineering]

Gangsta rap is a form of entertainment like any other. Some of its purveyors may use words or imagery that portrays certain criminal acts, but that is because they reflect the culture from which it spawned. Critics miss the subtleties of rap music, in which the rapper often takes on a particular persona in a song and so does not necessarily endorse the views or actions it portrays; rap fans are well aware of these ambiguities. Violence and criminality are also endemic in other forms of entertainment, for example opera and classic films often contain large-scale killing and violence. Trying to link gangsta rap to crime is singling it out amongst entertainment forms for political reasons. Would heavy metal, with its comparable content, be picked on instead if it were the music of a black urban underclass? 

Did you write this?

The grammar, word choices and sentences structures in this post are superlative.

[Hell-Rell]

Did you write this?

The grammar, word choices and sentences structures in this post are superlative.

I did this before in a debate at school

[mai_z]

Are we debating his grammer abilities or the subject of rap?

Yes. No one can deny our right to freedom of speech. But when that freedom is WARPING KIDS HEADS and making them think murder is cool& beating up a woman is alright [i swear i'm not a feminist..] that's just bullshit in the form of a shiny rainbow tinted disk.

Rap isn't the only thing warping kids' heads. It's not the words themselves in the rap that influences kids, it's the idolism (<probably a bad choice of words) they have for the rap artists themselves. When a child sees a crazed person on the street screaming that the end of the world is here, they know not to believe it. So if the child didn't believe in the rap artist, s/he wouldn't belive what they said. So perhaps we should just ban the interaction of all people so "kids' heads won't be warped"

And once again, people are pointing the finger at the parents. *sigh* Parents sometimes don't even know that the kids have it! Some parents could give a rats ass. Some parents just DONT CARE.

Maybe the parents SHOULD know, maybe the parents SHOULD give care, maybe the parents SHOULD give a rats ass. Unfortunately for children, many aspects of their lives are greatly influenced by their parents, for better or for worse, how is this any different?

[aforce65]

I am against music censorship because it should be up to the parents to decide if the child should get explicit music. Rappers should be able to express themselves freely.

[aforce65]

I am against music censorship because it should be up to the parents to decide if the child should get explicit music. Rappers should be able to express themselves freely.

[xXYouMeBedNowXx]

FOR
As nearly every person on the planet knows, trends and fad identities go in and out of the group with time. Since the presence of "Gangsta Rap" and the mass influence of the "Gangsta" sweep, the Fad has taken on its suitable role. It's not difficult to notice that a large majority of teens and young adults are taking the presence of this fad in: wearing large and baggy clothes, speaking like the people they see on television and the people they hear on the radio, and even to the extent commiting crime. These actions are influenced, not seperately, but on different levels. The media has a monumental influence on the average routine-viewer's behavior: the majority of them being young adults and teens. The government is aware of this, and is trying to filter out what should and shouldn't be projected and in turn, trying to control what degree of influence the media can cause.

For those that believe that it is not the government's right to rule out what should be

EDIT: I'll come back to this later.

[technicolour]

Rap isn't the only thing warping kids' heads. It's not the words themselves in the rap that influences kids, it's the idolism (<probably a bad choice of words) they have for the rap artists themselves. When a child sees a crazed person on the street screaming that the end of the world is here, they know not to believe it. So if the child didn't believe in the rap artist, s/he wouldn't belive what they said. So perhaps we should just ban the interaction of all people so "kids' heads won't be warped"

That's just it. They're believing what the rappers are saying. That's why it's warping the kids heads.

[*RiC3xBoy*]

I am against music censorship because it should be up to the parents to decide if the child should get explicit music. Rappers should be able to express themselves freely.

Sometimes, the parent isn't aware of what his/her child is even listening to. For example, a child I tutored listened to "gangster rap", but his parents didn't speak english.

[*not_your_average*]

Kristina, I agree, there are some parents who don't give a rat's ass.

However, the last thing we need is censorship. Many of these artists are simply writing and rapping about what they know, and gangsta rap is the medium through which they express themselves.

There are kids who can't understand the difference between reality and fantasy, but that's extremely rare, and those kinds of kids need a psychiatric eval. [/off topic]

A gangsta rap song is no excuse to go out and kill someone. A person who claims that a rap song compelled them to kill or harm someone isn't going to get any sympathy. They took a life, and they will suffer the consequences.

Children at the age of 9 should not be listening to gangsta rap, I agree.

But censorship is not the way to solve that problem.

[*RiC3xBoy*]

There are kids who can't understand the difference between reality and fantasy, but that's extremely rare, and those kinds of kids need a psychiatric eval. [/off topic]

Would you say "Santa Clause" is liable for a kid to believe and is in need of a psychiatric eval.

[Ni99aRican]

*ah yes a rebuttle*

So basically everyone is saying that it's up to the parents. Well hm..I'll use my own life as an example. I own many artist's cd's that my parents HATE and that if they KNEW i had them..my head would be sitting next to me, not on me. I can get Cd's of songs that my parents dont like and they have NO CLUE what exactly is going on.

Parents CANT always CONTROL what their kids come into contact with.
Parents are just starting to not give a damn. That's it.

'sides, the parents wouldn't have to worry, become a parent if they knew it wasn't out there in the first place.

Let me get this straight. You want a censorship on music, but yet you yourself own CDs in which your parents do not approve of. SMH, kids will always find away around the system no matter how many barriers you put up. They can just simply get someone of an older age who is not a parent to buy it for them.

Topic Claimed

[EddieV]

< not a debator but would like a say...

If the government wants to put a ban into musical lyrics, they should first see that it if the person cannot control themselves from reinacting the lyrics they hear, well let us just say that they shouldn't be listening to music in the first place. This is why they have parental avdisory labels on CD albums. Stores should take more consideration to enforce these rules rather than just go for the money.

[ApocalypseAelis]

Maybe the parents SHOULD know, maybe the parents SHOULD give care, maybe the parents SHOULD give a rats ass. Unfortunately for children, many aspects of their lives are greatly influenced by their parents, for better or for worse, how is this any different?

Well, we SHOULD never commit any crimes and love each other and never make war, but it doesn't happen...sure it's right, but so what? We're human. Just because it SHOULD happen doesn't mean it will.


"Gansta rap" should not be censored by the goverment; however, it should have a warning label. Something like "M" for mature like the kind for video games or something.

Personally, I think this "gansta rap" is incredibly idiotic and I can't believe that people would actually encourage illegal acts...especially to a gullible and easily influenced teenage audience...gahh. Fools.

But it's not like I can do anything about it.

However, the last thing we need is censorship. Many of these artists are simply writing and rapping about what they know, and gangsta rap is the medium through which they express themselves.

Yes, but some of these...forms of expression may be unsuitable for younger ears. We should let them express themselves, but we have to be careful about how and whom they affect.