Media Influence on Drug Use

Rap music has received lots of criticism for often containing obscene language, and shocking themes of homicide, drug use, rape, guns, violence, and murder (Robert 2). Many people believe that rap music has had a negative influence on today’s youth, causing listeners to be anti-social or even violent (Hip-hop 1). One source talked about a thirteen year old student at West Side Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas who shot fifteen people at his school. A teacher at this school, Debbie Pelley, testified in court on June 16, 1998, that she believes that modern rap music may have been what inspired him to commit these violent crimes (Pelley 1). Students at this school said that he was very passionate about rap music, and verified that the message of most gangsta rap is that killing and being on death row is cool (Pelley 1). Some rappers criticize America for its racial and economic discrimination and blame youth crime, violence, and drug use on that, rather than rap music and media viole...