Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and even newer artists in the hip hop industry such as Nicki Minaj, Drake, and J.Cole has some controversial lyrics. Rap lyrics have a big influence our looks and actions. Many people don’t realize it, however, it is true. If he does that, we do that. If he say this, we say it too. Having this much power within the community, you would think that Rap artist would consider watching what they say. However, rap artist don’t usually do that. Take the word ‘bitch’ for example. Many rappers refer to woman as ‘bitches.’Since when is it OK to be called a bitch? If I am not mistaking, I was told that a bitch was a female dog. But because the rap artist say that they need a bad bitch on their arm, women think that is OK to be called one. Hip hop has misconstrued this word and made some women believe it is a compliment. Some women even go as far as tattooing the word onto their bodies. That’s how much influence lyrics have on people. But where’s the respect? How can we as women understand our amount of self-worth with music saying things like this? The bitch word is only a small way lyrics cause low self-esteem in African American women.
NBC news did a story on the sexual lyrics in hip hop and other music and the things it could lead up to. Here's what they shared:
Teens whose iPods are full of music with raunchy, sexual lyrics start having sex sooner than those who prefer other songs, a study found.
Whether it’s hip-hop, rap, pop or rock, much of popular music aimed at teens contains sexual overtones. Its influence on their behavior appears to depend on how the sex is portrayed, researchers found.
Songs depicting men as “sex-driven studs,” women as sex objects and with explicit references to sex acts are more likely to trigger early sexual behavior than those where sexual references are more veiled and relationships appear more committed, the study found.
Teens who said they listened to lots of music with degrading sexual messages were almost twice as likely to start having intercourse or other sexual activities within the following two years as were teens who listened to little or no sexually degrading music.
Among heavy listeners, 51 percent started having sex within two years, versus 29 percent of those who said they listened to little or no sexually degrading music.
'Cool thing to do'
Exposure to lots of sexually degrading music “gives them a specific message about sex,” said lead author Steven Martino, a researcher for Rand Corp. in Pittsburgh. Boys learn they should be relentless in pursuit of women and girls learn to view themselves as sex objects, he said.
“We think that really lowers kids’ inhibitions and makes them less thoughtful” about sexual decisions and may influence them to make decisions they regret, he said.
The study, based on telephone interviews with 1,461 participants aged 12 to 17, appears in the August issue of Pediatrics, being released Monday.
Most participants were virgins when they were first questioned in 2001. Follow-up interviews were done in 2002 and 2004 to see if music choice had influenced subsequent behavior.
Natasha Ramsey, a 17-year-old from New Brunswick, N.J., said she and other teens sometimes listen to sexually explicit songs because they like the beat.
“I won’t really realize that the person is talking about having sex or raping a girl,” she said. Even so, the message “is being beaten into the teens’ heads,” she said. “We don’t even really realize how much.” (to read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14227775/ns/health-sexual_health/t/dirty-song-lyrics-can-prompt-early-teen-sex/#.Tss8dbJ4P-k)
This article has proven how much and an influence hip hop can be to a young child. Listen to a recent hip hop track by rappers Gucci Mane feat. Webbie. These raunchy lyrics influence men to believe that they shouldn't 'LOVE' women. They should only receive what they want from them, mostly sex. Just Listen:
