music gun crime

Seems this thread has amounted to nothing but willy-waving (and the same old culprit is at it again). "Ooh look at me I'm cleverer than you so you can shut up and everyone listen to me!" SHUT YOUR MOUTH! Don't pull out the long words, stick to the point, like the boy Majik. And don't talk like you're above the people you're supposed to be discussing, because firstly you're not, and secondly it only goes and makes people think they will never reach the social level you try and talk from, rendering their aspirations meaningless (in their eyes) and making the situation worse.

what bold judgements? gun crime on the rise? anti-social behaviour on the rise? gang crime on the rise? drug crime on the rise? they are not bold, they are facts and it doesnt matter whether your black white rich or poor to realise this..

thats not the point..

dont play the 'your so out of touch, im from the street' card, because it wont wash. my initial comments surrounding black music culture had one sole point and that was, the messages being given across in the music and in the culture as a whole, and its acceptance in society, is one of lawlessness, crime and disrespect. whether you happen to identify with that or not is irrelevant.

during the early 90s, drugs and then ecstasy were rife. they were the norm, but god forbid that any pop idol or celebrity dare utter anything but criticism for drugs lest their career end in tatters.

i meant the judgement that rap is a cause of this, its bold, it's general, 2 easy and in my opinion wrong

That's a pretty big post. Maybe I'll set aside a couple of hours this evening and get started on reading it.

do you think that the increase in popularity in hip hop msuic or music in general is linked to teh rise in youth gun crime?

i am doing a reserch paper for media studies an would be greatful if some peopel could give me there views

I feel that gun crime has nothing to do with music and that people are lookin for other people to blame.

This seems to be the catalyst to your argument, so it seems appropriate to point out that i never made such a judgement directly blaming rap music for gun crime. If you disagree, perhaps you would like to point that out for me, with quotes,
no-one is blaming rap, that is essentially one point i am trying to raise and have done since the outset.

i am very disturbed by two points, firstly that you see contemporary rap music as indicative of real street life, when that is simply a quite ridiculous idea. it is precisely the glamour and fantasy of rap culture that lends success to the genre. this may not have been the case when rap music was born, as a real street form of music, but that will simply not hold today. that is what is most disturbing from my point of view. it still promotes itself as something it quite clearly is not anymore. ie, non-commercialised, honest and subjective.

secondly, you make what i can only see is sarcasm towards some racial accusation. the issue here is the manifestation of rap music from predominantly a local and spontaneous form of music into something that is reaping the enjoyments of globalisation. raising the racial coincidences is shallow and inappropriate.

what exactly are you saying here? from that comment, it would appear white music culture is being discriminated against. possibly a valid point, but not how i would look at the problem.

so, first you deny any link between rap music and conscious decision making and than attribute it to the influencing the minds of its listeners. which is it to be?

the original question was, 'do you think that the increase in popularity in hip hop msuic or music in general is linked to teh rise in youth gun crime?'
ur reply was 'yes, rap music glamourises a mythical life of guns, drugs and disrespect towards women.'

that was the catalyst 2 my argument!

dont play the 'your so out of touch, im from the street' card, because it wont wash. my initial comments surrounding black music culture had one sole point and that was, the messages being given across in the music and in the culture as a whole, and its acceptance in society, is one of lawlessness, crime and disrespect. whether you happen to identify with that or not is irrelevant. you can live your life as you wish, but when it starts having a broad and sustained output to the majority of the country then you have to take criticism on the chin. swathes of youths of all classes and backgrounds are seeing this music and its clarity as a culture. whether they take the route, and i accept you points regarding role models and a strong family background, that cannot legitimise public acceptance of such messages on the sort of scale we are seeing today. during the early 90s, drugs and then ecstasy were rife. they were the norm, but god forbid that any pop idol or celebrity dare utter anything but criticism for drugs lest their career end in tatters.

as Jay Nordlinger stresses in his weekly diary..

-- You'll be pleased to know that Murder, Inc., the rap-record company, has changed its name — to, simply, "The Inc." The company's founder told a press conference, "People have been focused on the negative energy of the word 'murder.'" You don't say? "Negative energy"? And Russell Simmons, the hip-hop mogul, said the name change was necessary to "get you all off [the company's] a**." "You all" meant fuddy-duddies who might have been focusing on the negative energy of the word "murder."

Me, I sort of liked the original name — by their names, you should know them. A company that produces a product that routinely celebrates murder, rape, and other crimes should have a forthright name. Truth in advertising, and all that.---

It doesn't have an effect on the culture. The music is ABOUT the culture that already exists.

do you think that the increase in popularity in hip hop msuic or music in general is linked to teh rise in youth gun crime?

i am doing a reserch paper for media studies an would be greatful if some peopel could give me there views

I did my CGSE English speech on this topic (saying that it didn't encourage gun crime), and to quote the great Eminem, "They say music can alter moods, and talk to you, but can it load a gun up for you and cock it too? Well if it can then the next time you assault a dude, tell the judge it was my fault and I'll get sued"