Is rap "music" dumbing kids down?

Originally posted by EarthwormJim
First off I know some people just like to dance and the beats are catchy and extremely simple.How can some rich white suburban kid put on a dew rag, talk about strife and totally lose his or her ability to speak properly?Is there a conspiracy here?If so who are the conspirators?

Well mr pink Floyd... Bias noted

What do you mean speak properly? You do realize that language is not designed but emergent right? That dictionaries are written after languages emerge? Updated as the vernacular expands? Do you understand the evolution from a pidgin to a creole?

What is Elvis but exactly what you describe?

Why do white suburban kids like it? Because it provides a sense of meaning that those obsessed with social rules often lack... Because it is expressive, because it is different, and because, well it rocks...

reply to post by EarthwormJim


If I knew how to successfully embed this video, I definitely would... as a response to anyone who even insinuates that rap/hip hop doesn't take talent. Nobody in the mainstream music industry, be it rap or pop, rhymes like this:

Lowkey - Fire in the Booth

I figure an overabundance of mainstream anything (including mainstream education ) combined with a lack of parenting is what's 'dumbing kids down'... not rap.

Rap might have been pretty good early on, but know its mprphed into a cancer that we can't get rid of. I just hope its terminal.

The chans are dumbing down the kids

If you don't like rap that dosen't mean rap is dumbing down the kids, if you can show rap is dumbing down the kids by comparing the lyrics to other genres then good for you and I'm looking forward to that being posted.

This is for most of you in this thread if you don't do this then your basing your arguments on opinion and not fact, I would like to see what I suggested done but I'm going to guess none of you will do it and the thread will carry on based on opinions.

The important thing to look at with rap and other repetitive forms of music (like reggae, techno. etc.) is the trance like state it induces because of the repeating drums and loops...This is actually a enjoyable, numbing feeling but it certainly isn't very good for promoting the best brain activity.

I know that studies have been done regarding which type of music is best for brain development in babies and it's of course no surprise to find that classical is much better than rap.. The reason is that classical songs move and change within the song...There's changing moods and emotions whereas with rap it's just kind of petal to the metal in your face boom boom bap for 2 and a half minutes with a repeating loop in the background...

Don't get me wrong, I agree with the others who've pointed out that there's plenty of rap / hip hop music that has lyrics which are more intelligent than the more popular rap songs would lead one to assume...However, I don't think that there's any getting around the repetitiveness...It sort of lulls you into this comatose like state that over time most definitely starts to 'dumb down' the listener. I've been to plenty of rap concerts and the crowd is often very sheep like, a bunch of drones just bobbing their heads in unison. The same effect can be seen at reggae shows (the ganja certainly adds to this effect in these environments)...Very zombie like.

There's some good 'rap' / 'hip hop' out there but the negative stuff that is constantly seen in the lyrics of the mainstream stuff is pure mental poison to our youth. My younger brother is starting to take to it and I think it is 100% a negative thing. I'm sick of those people who give rappers a pass and think it's ok for them to use the n word constantly, call women bitches and hoes, promote gang activity, worship shiny things (cars, jewelry), refuse to do their part in society ('the man') but instead encourage cheating the system by selling drugs, etc. Just look at who these guys idolize; Scarface. They wanna live that life or at least know that talking about that lifestyle sells records to young ignorant kids who don't know any better.

I don't buy the whole "They're just telling their reality of the ghetto" argument either. Total bs and no excuse to act like animals.

Basically there's two main negative aspects of rap
1) The repetitiveness of the music.
2) The overarching theme in 99% of rap music: Pure rebellion and revolt against joining society and being a productive, respectful, and law abiding citizen.

I'm sure I sound like an out of touch, grumpy old man, especially with my second point, but I've been around rap and it's listeners for years and I know what I'm talking about regarding this stuff. Most of the time, people who are huge rap fans, especially with the mainstream variety, are rude, unintelligent, ignorant losers who like to ape the rap stars they see on t.v. Their vocabulary is deplorable and often not even real words of the English language. Many white fans of rap literally try to act and talk in a way that they think will make them seem similar to rap stars. It's embarrassing and cringe inducing to hear these retards talk as they intentionally dumb down their language just to seem cool.

p.s. A lot of them are to blame for the disgrace we have in the white house right now who by the way has admitted he's a big fan of rap like Lil Wayne, Jay Z etc. It's absolutely despicable to me that our President has proudly admitted that he listens to this garbage.

Record companies are the conspirators. They induce popularity for "anybodies" with pretty faces who they can get a lot of cliche songs out of before they move on to the next one. However, there is good rap/pop/rock out there still. It's just that 99.9999999% of it is independent and most of that is not even good. The only solution is to boycott the mainstream music industry and spread the word, just like we always have to do with conspiracies.

reply to post by Jedimind


I'm sorry but repetitive rhythms is how learning occurs....

Rap is great for this, and classical is quite repetitive as well... Try bolero on for size

Sorry but your post is full of myth and not facts

Originally posted by Dementronoid
Record companies are the conspirators. They induce popularity for "anybodies" with pretty faces who they can get a lot of cliche songs out of before they move on to the next one. However, there is good rap/pop/rock out there still. It's just that 99.9999999% of it is independent and most of that is not even good.

Oh, by the way, the conspiracy I just mentioned and the cheap and lousy "music" they listen to is dumbing down the kids. But there is good rap out there.

The only solution is to boycott the mainstream music industry and spread the word, just like we always have to do with conspiracies.

When our job is done, the mainstream music industry will be good for our society.

reply to post by EarthwormJim


Real hip-hop is the only hope for an uprising in the states.

Metal is dead. Everything else is commercial.

School is bumbing down people, not art. Because school is over administered and students cant learn do the enormous overhead on top of the process.

Depends on what the music is saying.....when all it talks about is selling drugs, hitting women - then yes it is crap in my book.

Most music carries a message. I doubt that kids that lose their lingo and trade it in for "gangsta" are hardly conspiring to dumb folks down. I would be willing to bet it is quite the opposite.

Too many people blame music, movies, etc for all the bad things other people do. But nobody blames these things for all the good things they do. Especially not here on this site.

You don't see "comedy" in the streets, or rather, don't blame Russel Peters for funny east indians.

People that are "dummied down" by it, were already dummies to begin with. One way or another...

reply to post by HunkaHunka


I disagree with you entirely and your incorrect that my post is based on myth because it's actually based on my real world experience and facts...There's thousands of songs of rap lyrics posted online for you to check, pick any at random and my points will be proven...I don't feel like finding the studies showing that classical is better for brain development than rap because it's pretty obvious anyway. If you have any proof that repetitive rhythms is how learning occurs than bring it to the table.

If you were expecting a child, would you rather have Beethoven in the air while it's in the womb, or some rap music? The answer should be obvious.

Your claim that classical is repetitive just shows how uninformed you are about this. It's pretty simple stuff and I'd guess that you must be a fan of rap so your bias prevents you from figuring out this simple issue and looking at it objectively. Good luck.

Mainstream hip-hop? Like the horrible # you hear on the radio? Yes possibly.

Underground hip-hop? no way.

Originally posted by old_god
Rap = CRAP - period

Then you must have a shi**y taste in rap. Rap is not CRAP. You're just really stuck up and not open-minded to the music it makes.

Originally posted by EarthwormJim
First off I know some people just like to dance and the beats are catchy and extremely simple.How can some rich white suburban kid put on a dew rag, talk about strife and totally lose his or her ability to speak properly?Is there a conspiracy here?If so who are the conspirators?

Youre talking about mainstream rap, i agree, it does has dumbing effects. Not all rap negatively affects people though...Take Immortal Technique as an example. He is arguably, the realest rapper i know, he is so upfront about rapping about the problems that exist within our society...

So shut this conspiracy up and listen to these songs.

Way worse than just dumbing down.

I've been a mobile DJ for a long time - even spinning real records during the disco era - and my crowds have divided into two groups that I call the 2000-ers and the everythingelse-ers. Before this SOULLESS, fabricated, monotone, repetitive dumbed down music era, everyone could hang with each other's era of music for while in a night of dancing. This is no longer the case... with a very creepy twist.

Now, the 2000-ers express exteme impatience, disgust and hostility if I'm not playing THEIR music - usually the current 2-week wonder that quickly comes and goes and is forgotton for good (VERY LITTLE music with any 10-20-30+ year shelf life has been made in the 2000's - what does that say????). The 2000-ers could care less about what the other 80% of people in the room prefer, and it's like if they don't get their 'fix' they start to go into withdrawal. It's scary to see how sucked in and brainwashed they've become and unable to see it.

The lack of the controlled media promoting any music with real talent or soul for so long in favor of hostile, aggressive, subliminal embedded creepy music by dressed up dolls and MK'd robots is taking a real toll on a whole generation. To argue with myself, however, that's what was said about rock and roll at first. It was just as norm-breaking blatant, sexual and provocative for the time. They were wrong then but I'm right now?? Don't know.

Can't wait for the real creative backlash to all this cRAP. Hey record companies, you're ignoring a HUGE audience and there's LOTS of money waiting from people who would love some real soul in the music again. The other 80% of my crowds still go CRAZY for music that had timeless shelf life - soul.

I remember all the music they played at my prom were rap...

In regards to your post, I feel that rap music does dumb down the population. That being said, I feel the same way toward all commercial music. It could be rap to pop, rock to country, there all are artists who have reached a point of commercial fame with alterior motives behind their music. Now I do not feel that all rap music is meant to dumb down the population. I have read and listened to rap artists who ryhme about current events and educate the listeners. To make the assumption that rap as a catagory is dumbing down the world is a false conclusion. When you look to the most infulential artists, such as Jay Z, you will notice that he heralds an occult prescense in his clothing line and music. As far as the mainstream rap scene goes, it travels through Jay Z. The pic picture seems to tie all this together a shadowed form of brainwashing.

reply to post by EarthwormJim



www.youtube.com...

Not all rap is dumb. Some is great!

Rap is the worst music to come long since the beginning of popular music. It offers the least talent coupled with the most attitude, and I have no idea why kids these days are so quick to pay top dollar to go watch someone give them attitude on stage. The music lacks any depth whatsoever and the people involved are the least musically talented people in the field. They can't even play an instrument.

Back when rap first hit the scene, I scoffed at it because it was so shallow and stupid that I truly believed it wouldn't last more than a few years. How wrong I was! People really are so stupid that they latched onto this vapid sonic tripe. People really have terrible taste.

Rap is a microcosm for the problems in the world today, financial, economic, social etc. Rap proves that we are near the end. When kids are growing up they should be developing a passion for this planet and the issues confronting humanity. Instead they spend their time - and money - watching some idiot rap at them, grabbing his crotch and acting like a fool. That's not music. That's garbage.

Rap is crap, but unfortunately many in this world seem to like crap. And yes, to answer the OP's question, rap is dumbing down today's youth, but then what isn't? It's made to work this way. TV, video games, bad education programs. Nothing new here. Just another project that fits into the big picture, MAKE PEOPLE DUMBER AND THEY'RE EASIER TO CONTROL.

Meanwhile, here is some proof of my argument. I challenge anyone with an IQ over 85 that this shyte isn't the dumbest music on the planet.

(One last thing, warning, the video contains the "N" word, BUT IT'S OKAY BECAUSE THE IDIOT SAYING IT IS BLACK! See how that works? DUMB.)

www.youtube.com...

Originally posted by zroth
reply to post by EarthwormJim

 

Metal is dead. Everything else is commercial.

I must say quite the opposite my friend, Metal is alive and well. It may not be the "in" thing right now, but it's definitely still there.

As for rap, I don't think it's dumbing people down. You just need to look past the commercial version of it to find the real intelligent stuff. I'm not a fan of rap, but I can't deny its standing as music, as much as drum/bass loops with random electronic noises annoys me.