Does hip hop music have a negative impact on youth?
On One Hand: Destroys PotentialAccording to Jeffrey Hicks of the National Leadership Network of Conservative African-Americans, hip hop music “serves to glorify formerly stigmatized characteristics of the lower class, preventing the impetus for upward mobility.”On the Other: Counters ViolenceThe Beats, Rhymes and Life program in San Francisco was created to keep youth off the streets through a hip-hop based after-school activity where they can “spit lyrics to work out their problems instead of picking up guns,” according to a 2008 New America Media article.Bottom LineWhile some hip-hop music may glorify violence and influence youth in a negative way, hip-hop culture was born out of a movement to counter violence in the inner-city and, therefore, it can have a positive impact on youth.
