Hip Hop on trial

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Hip Hop doesn't enhance society, it degrades it

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Hip hop on trial

Live debate on hip hop
http://www.youtube.com/versusdebates?feature=inp-fb-vss
may contain swearing watch at own risk

What's your position/view?

But surely that can be said about many genres of music?

Right, but hip hop seems to be in the spotlight more often than not. It is argued that other genres of music can be way worse such as pop and music role models such as Rihanna, who is criticised by someone in the debate (and many others) as being too sexual in her lyrics such as the more obvious "S&M".

The problem is not and cannot be hip hop itself, only the words and actions of those affiliated, which are so variant even among close likenesses that a definitive "yes, hip hop is evil" can't ever be reasonably stated. I would never suggest that the problems usually associated with hip hop lifestyles can actually be blamed on the music itself, rather that these are pre-existing conditions, struggles, and personal triumphs which the artist expresses through the music and how they conduct themselves. Teen pregnancy isn't a problem just because Ghostface Killah said he doesn't like to use condoms, homophobia isn't rife because Nas blamed gay oral sex for the problems in his neighbourhood once, gang killings don't happen because Biggie made Ready To Die - these things all exist and are problematic through lack of contentment, resources, and proper education, and are channelled by certain artists because they have had some effect on these peoples' ways of thinking and acting.

Hip hop was inspired by everyday life. To me, taking out hip hop will solve nothing. It only has supposedly "degrading" things in it because the artists see things on the street and want to put them in a song, just like most other artists do. In my opinion, this is like "killing the messenger".

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Hip Hop doesn't enhance society, it degrades it

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I think that's untrue, why is it being pulled into the spotlight when other genres aren't? Like others have said, there is ones just as bad, if not worse.