In this paper, I will be looking at the correlation between the commercialization and rising success of Rap music and the perceived increase in youth violence within the United Kingdom from 1990 to the present.

I have decided to research into the effects of rap music, as it seems a public concern with very divided opinions. I would like to know if there has been a real increase in crime in the UK, whether this increase is within the youth age group and/or target market for rap music sales and whether rap music sales have increased in these periods.

Music has been blamed for many atrocities over recent years. For example: the Columbine High School massacre being probably the most famous, where two young men shot dead fellow pupils before committing suicide. It was reported that at the same time the boys were allegedly obsessed with the music of Marylin Manson. Marylin Mason (real name Brian Hugh Warner) was officially questioned and summoned to court but was not convicted of any crime.

To my knowledge, rap music has not been cited as responsible for a specific, globally reported tragedy, however, it is often blamed for the increasing trend of ‘gang culture’ we are currently experiencing in the UK. Rap music is famous for its lyrical content, often with an aggressive tone and explicit lyrics, rap seems to glorify crime, violence, vengeance, misogyny, sex and general illegality, so surely there must be some links between the popularization of rap and an increase in the crimes which it promotes. However, we have to consider other social and environmental aspects and there are other mediums of entertainment such as films, television and video games.

The most important question is, is music really influential at all? Can music consciously or subconsciously affect the actions and or personality of its audience?

We have to consider that, is this just an outsider’s opinion of the genre based on associations made in television, films, video games etcetera. Is it a misconception that criminals even listen to rap music?

I will compile a database of crime statistics across the UK over the years in which rap music has become more prolific in society.

I will highlight several points within this paper, researching and debating:

The effects of music on human behavior; Has crime in the UK increased since 2000? Has rap music increased its sales/exposure? Is rap music as explicit as perceived? Have rap artists become good or bad role models for teenagers? Can rap be blamed for the rise in ‘gang culture’ in the UK?

The Effects of Music on Human Behaviour

We know that music can affect our moods; dependant on our environment, the occasion or our current emotional state the introduction of music can have very different outcomes. There have been many studies on the effects of tempo on respiration and heart rates concluding that a reduction in BMP (beats per minute) tempo induces a sense of calm into its audiences and lowers heart rates whereas an increase in BMP accelerates heart and respiration rates. Music has also been known to reduce or delay fatigue. If a subject interacts well with music or the task they are performing flows well to the rhythm of the music, output is generally improved but if this flow is not synchronized or pleasurable, the output can be greatly reduced. My own personal distraction is rock music when reading or writing, however I find Rachmaninoff to increase my productivity.  Music has also been used as a medicine, as practiced by Dr. Galina Midlin, M.D., Ph D. of New York, in the treatment for high blood pressure, stress, insomnia, anxiety and depression for Brain Music Therapy.

“Therapy records brain waves using EEG (electroencephalogram) equipment, and translates them into unique musical compositions. These musical sounds are presented in the form of two music files: relaxing and activating. Listening those files reflects on individual brain wave patterns and promotes the desired state of mind.”

www.brainmusictherapy.com

Studies on the effects of certain genres of music are vast, however, most focused on Metal, Rock and Grundge music, solely due to the media attention surrounding them. It was believed Metal fanatics were Devil worshipers, Rock lovers were alcoholic sex maniacs and Grundge fans were depressive, social outcasts and that a person subjected to these genres would eventually bare its audience’s characteristics. This was surprisingly, in most cases, found to be true. However, the tests were not technically accurate. A specific genre played to a non-fanatic would induce a negative reaction, for example: a popular music fan subjected to grundge music would develop symptoms of anxiety or depression, but an avid listener of Grundge would have completely the opposite effect, using the music as a therapy for the mental instability they already have rather then depression being a result of it.

Music has also been documented to assist autistic suffers communication skills. It is found that autistic children unable to learn basic forms of speech are able to memorize song lyrics. The BBC are currently running a program called Autistic Superstars, in which Martin, an eighteen year old, an almost non-verbal autism sufferer, who has his life meticulously regimented and repetitive is able to undertake changes in regime and perform new tasks, as well as singing in front of hundreds of people on a television set.

Audio/Visual - Music Video Influence

In 1995 three scientists found that males who had been randomly assigned to view rap videos became more accepting of the use of violence in dealing with interpersonal problems. It has also been found that both genders exposed to violent rap videos were more likely to commit acts of domestic violence. Prolonged viewing of rock music videos has been found to expose antisocial and stereotypic sex role behaviour in its audiences. It is reported that the connection between the music and the repetition of the actions displayed is more so affiliated with the visual aspect of the video. As it is well argued, television and films have been at the wrong end of finger pointing on many issues, the Jamie Buldger case of 1993 being one of the most documented in the United Kingdom. Therefore, tests carried out on music video are entirely separate to music without video.

Auditory Content Influence

Unfortunately, there have been no studies, specifically focusing on rap lyrics. However, personality is a product of ones environment and social input. Below is a break down of an average adult (over 16) time use throughout a day.

On average in the United Kingdom adults aged sixteen and above spend 3 hours and 32 minutes everyday either watching television or listening to music and considering a huge majority of households receive both television and radio signals, we can assume this is a 50/50 split.

Now, one hour and forty-five minutes of music exposure everyday, if you are a sixteen year old, pales in comparison to the amount of time shown for parent and offspring interaction. As it is well documented that adolescence is the period in life when most morals are grounded and the full realization of consequence is beginning to root itself in the human psyche. Traditionally morals are passed down from parents to children, with children often blindly adopting the views of their elders. Therefore exposing an adolescent mind to more than double the integration between parent and child to lyrics with strong, powerful ideas and gender roles, it seems obvious that some moral standing will be derived.  Although, with the infinite amount of factors involved with personality development, it would be impossible to measure this accurately.

UK Rap Sales

Has Rap Music Increased Sales Since 2000

According to Time Magazine, rap music sales have decreased by a staggering 44% since 2000, this has taken raps 13% of total music sales down to 10%. Fans argue that rap has changed, reclassified under sub-genres and is massively alive in Crunk, Glitch and Snap as well as Rap-Rock and Rap-Metal and many others, which combined would still be a sizeable market. This is broadened greater when considering the amount of illegal downloads and sharing of music between social groups. Rap has also become more commercially available in the UK since the 1990s, with Eminenem (Marshal Mathers) topping the UK charts seven times and being one of the most successful musical artists of all time. With the globalization of the Internet and satellite television now being a necessity of British living, music as a whole is more accessible to everyone.

UK Crime Statistics

Has Crime Increased Since 2000?

If you speak to almost any citizen of the United Kingdom, they will tell you our streets are getting worse, crime is at an all time high and the issue of knife/gun crime and ‘gang culture’ in the UK is epidemic.  The most common trait of ‘gang culture’ is violent crime.

Official Home Office Crime Statistics

Information taken from UK violent crime rates from 2000 – 2008, violent crimes in the UK in 2000 were around 3,300,000, which has fallen by 2008 to 2,750,000. Not a vast decrease but when accounting for population increases and according to conservatives, we are living in ‘broken Britain’, this is a surprising fall. It would seem that unless our government and police services are massaging crime reports, then this rise in crime in the UK is only perceived and born from media coverage and not a worsening of British society. This taken into account, it can not be ignored that Britain does indeed have a social problem, with council type estates becoming lawless havens of crime and towns and cities littered with graffiti and vandalism.

Conclusion

In response to the question, “Is Rap (Rap/Hip Hop) Music To Blame For the Rise in Youth Crime in the UK? Lets review the research.

The effects of music on human behaviour, showed that music in general, when observed by a fan has mainly positive effects, in some cases improving the subjects abilities to perform some tasks. In a case where a non-fan is observing music, it becomes an annoyance and a distraction, often lowering subjects abilities to perform tasks as efficiently as usual. Music has been proven to calm or excite individuals, rising and lowering heart rates, this shows that music not only has an effect on a subjects mind but also displays physiological changes.

According to Blaize Shepherd, human beings learn through experience, either their own or the tales of someone else’s. When looking at this statement alongside the 2000 and 2005 Time Use Survey which shows that the average UK citizen spends almost 20% of their waking lives watching television or listening to music, it would seem obvious that music should have long term effects on our personalities, from humour to moral awareness or the realization of consequence, it is unfathomable how little or how much effect this could have. However, I strongly feel that the research covered is reliable and proves that music does indeed captivate and influence its audience.

Now, looking at how explicit and repetitive rap music tends to be and the sociolinguistic adaptations it has made to society, it becomes striking clear that rap/hip hop has already greatly influenced our culture. In some ways this has been a good step, creating sub-genre after genre of new music expanding our art forms and creating industry and wealth around it. However, it has become apparent that rap music’s sales are falling, although I am not sure how reliable these figures are due to raps filtration down though many other genres of music.

My research has also shown that, in actual fact, no matter what the public thinks or the media tells us, according to the National Crime Statistics of 2008, crime has fallen and not on a percentage base, the number of reported incidents of violent crime have diminished. This coupled with the falling sales of rap would suggest that there is a connection, however, I do not believe that rap music is any way less popular. As stated rap is most definitely alive as well as many sub-genres of it. So, rap music cannot be blamed for a rise in violence, if there is no rise at all. In conclusion my research shows that rap, although it is aggressive and clearly promotes crime, sex and violence a genre which has redefined UK urban language and clearly influences a huge number of its fan base, it seems to have no real effect on crime rates. It would seem that due to its flamboyant disregard of politeness and promotion of sexism and violence, the very people who commit crimes are more inclined to be fans of it. In some cases there will be exceptions to this rule, where people imitate their idols, but as a general rule, I feel that other influences encourage criminals with or without rap music.