| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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world any advantages. In fact, the “street” notion of patriarchy gangster rappers mimic turns on itself and opens these men to abuse of each other and to racial self-hatred, which is evident in their music.
Chapter 10 reviews the research on the psychological effects of media—specifically, rap music—on its listeners and video watchers. First, essential theory is covered, followed by consideration of the major studies. I present studies of rap’s influence on violence and studies of the racial stereotyping implicit in rappers’ minstrel imagery. The second half of the chapter is devoted to the few studies that look directly at rap’s impact on African American preadolescents and adolescents. The more gangster rap they listen to or watch, the worse the outcome on a range of measures. The end of the chapter discusses the implications of this research for the controversy surrounding gangster rap. If these findings are confirmed in future studies, there will no longer be a controversy about the music’s negative effects. It will be clear that gangster rap is not harmless and is in fact toxic not only in terms of the racial stereotypes it teaches whites but also in the psychological harm it does to black young adults.
Chapter 11 outlines solutions. First, I review the high-level political approach to addressing the abuses in gangster rap that failed in the early 1990s. Then I outline an approach that will work today and that avoids all the problems inherent in bans and laws. The rappers and their independent labels do not have to be disturbed. The crux of the whole enterprise lies at the level of major investors, shareholders, and the board of directors of the major media companies responsible for financing and marketing gangster rap. They have a moral and legal responsibility to cause no harm. Without their backing, the rappers and labels would be on their own—something they have claimed to be all along. They would be unable to market with their current profitability or with corporate legal cover. At the same time, a range of things can be done to help develop the energy and potential in hip hop and bring it to the fore through nonprofit promotional labels. Hip hop needs to be supported and encouraged once it is separated from the underlying social problems posed by its association with gangster rap.