Music is an art form that plays a large role in many people's lives. Whether it be rock, classical, country, or rap, music has a broad influence over millions of people. This influence, however, is not always a positive one, which has been the case with Mainstream rap music in the past few years.
Rap is often referred to as poetry because it expresses emotions through a distinct style. Rappers such as Tupac, Jay-Z and Kanye West are known as the greatest because they expressed deep emotion and created vivid images through their songs. This poetic type of rap still exists, but has been but in the background as a new type of rap has emerged.
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Mainstream rap seems to revolve around topics such as sex, drugs, violence, and money. Rising stars such as Desiigner, Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert produce and put out songs that have little to no substance. These artists tend to boast about how much money they make, or about how much liquor and drugs they consume. Although the music itself can be very catchy and appealing to the ear, the overall message proves to have a poor influence on society.
Since musicians hold a very high position in society and are often idolized, they should have an obligation to spread a positive influence. As many rappers promote the illegal usage of drugs, and even sometimes sexual abuse, it can have a strong impact on our society, mainly the millennials.
For example, the song "Broccoli" by D.R.A.M. is almost all about smoking marijuana and hooking up with random girls. The song was released earlier in 2016 and still is played almost 700,000 times daily on Spotify. A song that has very little substance, and no real story or image, manages to make it to the top of the rap game. The song itself is produced and marketed well, which allows the negative message to reach millions around the world.
Some mainstream and underground rap artists do use their platform to promote positivity and bring about important ideas. Artists such as Kid Cudi, Logic, and J. Cole have achieved fame and spread some very important messages through their poetry. Kid Cudi, in particular, has been using his rap platform to promote suicide awareness.
It's these artists that deserve the mainstream attention because their music either has substance or significance. Their lyrics are more poetic, and they convey ideas and images exquisitely through them. When a song such as "Broccoli" achieves fame, it takes away from other songs that promote positive messages, which ultimately negatively influences our society.
