Hip Hop, Violence in

Christa Ward

In the 1970s, as disco ruled the mainstream airwaves, music artists in the urban ghettos of America were creating a sound and a culture that would be around for several decades. Hip hop culture encompasses elements such as rap, break dancing, and graffiti. Academics and parents have spent decades trying to understand the appeal of this culture to young people. In the early days, young African Americans embraced hip hop culture as a way to reject a racist power structure. Today, hip hop culture's influence expands beyond any race or geographic border. However, its producers and the images are still largely African American. Much research has examined the impact of hip hop culture, of which rap is a central component, on violence in society in general and on young people in particular. Early research on the genre seemed to suggest that rap music helped to glorify violence. As a culture, ...

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