Running head: Does Trap Music Affect Mental Health?

Does Trap Music Affect Mental Health

Triniti Hampton, Y’mahni Canty, Jordan Brown

JOMC303.001

Prof. Xueying Zhang

North Carolina A&T State University

Does Trap Music Affect Mental Health?

Does Trap Music Affect Mental Health

Keeping your brain healthy is a controversial topic that is talked about often, but is it talked

about often enough? Getting rest, exercising daily, and eating a healthy diet have all been

acknowledged as an essential part of keeping your mental health intact. But what isn’t

acknowledged day-to-day is how influential music is to your mental state.

In 2019 alone, the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), discovered that over 50

million people have admitted to having some form of mental health issues (NAMI, 2021). With

those numbers, that is 1 in every 5 citizens in America. Now, take that statistic and only include

African Americans. In the United States, only 13% officially identified as African Americans.

However, research has discovered that, out of the 13%, 16% have admitted to have mental health

issues (NAMI, 2021). Meaning, that nearly 5 million black people are suffering with either

depression, anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Bipolar Disorder, etc. As accurate as

the study was, a lot of African American citizens do not know about mental health problems

enough to see if they share the characteristics. Other black Americans know about mental health,

but refuse to acknowledge it and even see the issue as a form of weakness. The reason for this

mindset is unclear, but the aftermath of this belief is threatening.

With the black community having a negative connotation with mental health, a lot of

people within the community utilize other substances to handle their issues. Some of these

examples include: drinking, smoking, relying on sexual intercouse, and most of all, listening to

music. Unfortunately, those types of substances do not make the mental health issue go away or

make it better. In fact, all of the things that were listed above were discovered to make things

worse.
Does Trap Music Affect Mental Health?

Even though smoking, drinking, and having too many sexual partners are commonly

known as bad, people might argue that music doesn’t have the same negative effect. In fact, some

might argue that music can help certain mental health problems like anxiety and depression

(Monk-Turner, Sylvertooth, 2008) . Even though that may be true, music genres like trap have

shown to be the opposite of helpful. From Sheck Wes’s hit ‘Mo Bamba’ to NBA Youngboy, ‘Lil

Top’ , these songs may be catchy, but the lyrics have proven to be damaging to the mind. With

over 53% of black people listening to Trap (Nielsen Company, 2014), along with 63% not

knowing or believing the seriousness of mental health issues (NAMI, 2021), it’s imperative that

the group take a step back and examine what they are feeding their minds. Also, if done

successfully, this research discussion could be an ambitious way for people in the black

community to notify the severity of mental health issues.

Out of all of the communication phenomena, it’s really important to examine what people

are listening to on a daily basis. Considering the fact that times have changed, the way people

listen to music has changed as well. With nearly 90% of people listening to music on streaming

platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, etc.), the key to acknowledging the connection between

trap music and mental health is paying attention to what a person streams. Even though most do

not listen to the radio, it can still be a solid idea to examine what type of music the radio plays and

see how engaging their audience are.

Does Trap Music Affect Mental Health?

Rap music is one of the most significant genres of music, and has always been a source for artists

to storytell. However, over the years rap music has evolved both positively and negatively in the

public eye. In the early 1980s, people were introduced to artists like Kurtis Blow, LL Cool J, Run

DMC, and so on. In the late 1980s, groups such as Public Enemy and NWA caught the attention of

larger audiences demanding political changes which sometimes resulted in situations with the

police during their performances. Rap music was a huge influence, as it has inspired many. Even

though it has inspired, it has also influenced violence and effects on mental health.

This research is significant in today’s world as mental health is something that many people

struggle with. According to Francesca Carpentier’s research, from 2008 to 2017, young adults

from the ages of 18 to 25 had a significantly high risk for suicide. (JAMA Pediatrics, 2020)

Although mental health is an important factor in people no matter their race, the mental health rate

for African Americans is significantly higher- most being of the male gender. Black males hold a

huge audience, as many of them contribute to listening to rap music. The purpose of the study was

to test to see if rap music had increased mental health distress and high risks of suicide.

Researchers spent time analyzing lyrics from popular hip hop songs in 1998 to 2018. Out of the

125 songs that were studied, every rap song was by or featured an African American artist. Many

lyrics displayed anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts.

Another study discusses how mental health has been displayed in rap music for years, but today it

is presented in a more dominant way (Hart, 2019). Instead of using mental health as a negative and

depressing outlook, the researcher discusses how artists are promoting self-care and therapy

sessions rather than drugs and violence. Hart spent time listening to songs, and paid attention to

lyrics by highlighting them- pointing out healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms on mental

health. There is another study that collected lyrics- but to test them to see if they portrayed
Does Trap Music Affect Mental Health?

violence, and how rap music is often stereotyped. Participants of the study were to guess if a set of

lyrics had come from a rap/country song and to measure them by offensiveness, a feeling of threat,

or if they were normal lyrics (Dunbar, Kubrin, Scurich, 2016).

As previously mentioned music can either help or harm you. Music allows you to tap into a whole

other mental state whether it brings you happiness or anger. A musical experience is probably the

richest human emotional, sensorimotor, and cognitive experience. It involves listening, watching,

feeling, moving, remembering, and expecting. It is frequently accompanied by profound emotions

… which manifest themselves into bodily reactions like tears in the eyes or shivers down your

spine (Altenmüller and Schlaugh, 2012).

The brain is a highly adaptable organ. Therefore, the environment you’re in plays a huge

role in your development. Brain imaging is well known for providing insight on the human brain's

capacity (Altenmüller & Schlaugh, 2012), music amongst many other things can tap into those

different complexities of the brain which lead to adding onto character development.

A study was conducted to examine the association of media violence and physical

aggression. Within the study, 5,147 fifth grade students were analyzed in 3 United States

metropolitan areas. Multi-variable linear regression and report partial correlation coefficients were

used to examine associations between children's exposure to violence media outlets (Coker, Elliott,

Schwebel, Windle, Toomey, Tortolero, & Schuster, 2015). Music was one of the three media

outlets studied to examine this association. With results of 0.14 via partial correlation coefficient,

music has a pretty significant effect on a child’s aggression. The association between physical

aggression and media violence exposure is robust and persistent; the strength of this association of

media violence may be at least as important as that of other factors with physical aggression in
Does Trap Music Affect Mental Health?

children, such as neighborhood violence, home violence, child mental health, and male gender

(Coker, 2015).

Emotions are known to be attached to frequencies. Frequencies are also a huge part of

music. That being said, certain frequencies can be amplified with the usage of music. For instance

a study was conducted, and shown effectively that Binaural Beats can help lessen anxiety and put

you in a better state of mind. Binaural Beats are considered auditory illusions (Cafasso, 2018).

When you play a tone with a slightly different frequency into your left and right ear, they travel

separately to your inferior colliculus, the part of your brain that gathers auditory input. There, the

tones mend together into a so-called “beat” at a perceived new frequency (Cafasso, 2018). These

beats have frequencies as low as 4 Hz. The lower the frequency the better it can be for your mental

state (Cafasso, 2018). The new frequency created can help you tune into relaxation, creativity, or

even help with sleep; all positives for human brain health.

Trap music is what young adults and children are mainly consuming. This category of rap

music having a higher frequency, being more aggressive, and angry can take a toll on anyone.

What needs to be studied further is how the higher the frequency of music is, the more aggressive

and angry you may become. Aside from the lycrism that take a toll on you as well, trap music is

known to be higher in frequencies than every other music category. That correlation alone can help

further the argument that trap music can have an effect on you mentally.

Be aware of what you are allowing your brain to consume. People monetize what their

children watch on television but not what they listen to in their headphones, which is also a big

must. Aside from child development, even adults need to realize that consuming positive things are

important. This can help brighten your mental state, clear your anxiety, or even help you sleep, all

factors necessary to take into consideration.

Does Trap Music Affect Mental Health?

References

Monk-Turner, E., Sylvertooth,. D. (2008). Rap music: Gender Difference in Derogatory Word

Use .https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=sociology

criminaljustice_fac_pubs

National Alliance of Mental Illness. (2021, March). Mental Health By the Numbers. NAMI.

https://www.nami.org/mhstats
Does Trap Music Affect Mental Health?

The Nielsen Company. (2014). LISTEN UP: AMERICAN CONSUMERS AND MUSIC.

Published. https://www.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/multicultural-music -

report-african-american.pdf

Wesseldijk, L.W., Ullén, F. & Mosing, M.A. The effects of playing music on mental health

outcomes. Sci Rep 9, 12606 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-49099-9

Kresovich, A., Collins, M. K. R., Riffe, D., & Carpentier, F. R. D. A Content Analysis of Mental

Health Discourse in Popular Rap Music. JAMA Pediatrics.

https://doi.org/10.1001/JAMAPEDIATRICS.2020.5155

Hart, R. (2019), 'Man Down: The Evolution of Masculinity and Mental Health Narratives in Rap

Music', Reinvention: an International Journal of Undergraduate Research, Volume 12, Issue 1,

View of Man Down: The Evolution of Masculinity and Mental Health Narratives in Rap Music.

Dunbar, A., Kubrin, C. E., & Scurich, N. (2016). The threatening nature of “rap” music.

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 22(3), 280–292. https://doi.org/10.1037/LAW0000093

Altenmüller, E., & Schlaug, G. (2012). Music, brain, and health: exploring biological foundations

of music’s health effects. Music, health, and wellbeing, 12-24.

Coker, T. R., Elliott, M. N., Schwebel, D. C., Windle, M., Toomey, S. L., Tortolero, S. R., ... &

Schuster, M. A. (2015). Media violence exposure and physical aggression in fifth-grade children.

Academic pediatrics, 15(1), 82-88.

Cafasso, J. Binaural beats: Sleep, therapy, and meditation.(2018, September 18).