My research question is: "Why is Rap Music Commonly Viewed as a Negative Influence?

"

I'm going to be doing research on rap music and the influence it can have on a generation.
However, I also want to help the genre break free of the negativity that was created due to some
of its "rotten apples." Pop and Country music have had their fair share of mistakes, yet, they are
looked at differently because of the styles of music. I'm hoping to use articles and different
readings to try and bring light to the biases in those grey areas.
One of the main audiences I would hope to reach with this paper are the parents who
worry their child's life will be ruined if they become fans of rap/hip-hop. I'm also planning to use
this paper to show how this genre of music has helped shape many great men and women in the
world today, as well as, how many of these artists give back to their communities after their rise
to stardom. I believe this can help change the perspective of rap having that "negative influence."
I'm an avid listener of rap music, and have had it change my life in many positive ways.
After years of listening to different artists, and styles of rap, you start to gain a different outlook
on the genre as a whole. The way they put together these songs, and the creativity/cleverness of
some of the words used in their wordplay/rhyme scheme, is so incredible. The things a lot of
these artists have had to struggle with, and are still struggling with nowadays, help make them
more relatable to our generation and is part of the main reason so many people (myself
included), have become fans of the genre. I plan on using personal experiences to help provide
more background information on why this topic is so important to me, different articles and
readings, as well as, interviewing rappers, and hopefully some parents that have different
perspectives of Rap/Hip-Hop music.
The purpose behind this paper, is to focus on the positive influence Rap/Hip-Hop can
have, while trying to break down that negative connotation it continues to uphold. Thus, more
people can be open to the music a lot of these talented artists create, instead of seeing it as music
for “thugs.”
This genre of music has helped me better myself in many different, creative ways. It
opened a door for me to different genres of music I probably never would’ve found myself. The
fact that people turn their back on something they aren’t willing to try, while at the same time
cheating someone else out of it because they think it’s a “negative influence” bothers me to the
core.
There have been so many cultural inspirations Rap and Hip-Hop have given us, from the
clothes people wear, to the foods they eat, and especially the way it brings people from different
cultures all together.

Links to some sources I’ve found so far:

https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1021&context=engl_176#:~:text=Conclusion%3A,discriminatory%20world%20they
%20live%20in.

https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1021&context=engl_176#:~:text=Conclusion%3A,discriminatory%20world%20they
%20live%20in.
https://www.cbc.ca/parents/learning/view/my-son-and-i-are-woke-because-we-share-an-interest-
in-rap-music