Rap Music

Daniel Cha English T/TR 7am 27 Febuarany 2013 Essay 1 Rap's Opposing views When it comes to defining rap music, some define it as poetry in the form of music. Even though rap music is thought of as a form of art, it is highly debated as a controversial social issue. Author   Sid Kirchheimer from † Does rap put teens at risk† makes a claim that rap music is a detriment to our youth. He believes that negative behaviors is the outcome of people watching and listening to rap music. Author Curtis Aron from â€Å"Rap Music: Is It As Bad As Some People Think? Thinks otherwise and claims that rap music is looked at as a whole and is greatly misunderstood. Aron explains that the genre of rap music is blanketed by its popular view of being a negative influence and is being greatly misunderstood. Using the Toulmin model of argument, both arguments offer very good reasons why their arguments provide persuasive evidence about the different perspectives of rap music. Kirchheimer's w arrant is, that initially rap music automatically leaves a bad tastes in peoples mouth. Kirchheimer's view on rap is that because teens watch so much television they are exposed to what he calls â€Å"reel life of a gangsta. By watching these rap videos, they are more likely to practice the behaviors they see off their favorite rap artists or rap music video. He claims that because of long hours of exposure to rap music teenagers are starting to behave like what they see on television. His grounds offer truths because his claim of watching rap videos is backed with statistically data. He says, â€Å"Researchers found that compared to those who never or rarely watched these videos, the girls who viewed these gangsta videos for at least 14 hours per week were far more likely to practice numerous destructive behaviors.Over the course of the one-year study, they were three times more likely to hit a teacher, over 2. 5 times more likely to get arrested, twice as likely to have multiple sexual partners and 1. 5 times more likely to get a sexually transmitted disease, use  drugs, or drink alcohol. â€Å"Rap initially does leave a bad taste in people mouths, the quote provides statistical evidence that supports why people should and would despise it. Aron, with his own warrant states, that genre of rap music is blanketed by its popular view of being a negative influence.Aron says that â€Å"Rap music has long had a reputation of being a form of music that represents violence, sexual exploitation and excess. The genre has been criticized in the media, associated with some of the nation's social ill and seen by a good number of people as bad on citizens in general. † He first goes against his own viewpoints to prove that he understands the issue. He provides a counterargument to prove he is a reliable source about how rap can be seen as a social ill. Aron's use of the Toulmin argument continues as he offers his rebuttal and backing by saying, not all rap mus ic is bad music.Aron states, â€Å"There is some rap music that is created with the intention of sending a positive message to its audience. There are songs that denounce violence and call for more peace and togetherness in the inner city in an attempt to improve the quality of life. † Some truth that the author stresses is how there is positive rap and it can serve as a purpose of improving social consciousness. An example rap group he uses to provide evidence to his backing is a group named â€Å"The East Coast AllStars. † He supports this group because it adds qualification that not all rap music is bad music.But most importantly because the group understands that music is highly influential, so they really push and write songs that gives positive influence to these communities that are being run by violence, sex, and drug exploitations. Kirchheimer also reveals that he understands both sides of the subject by stating a counterargument of his own. He says that, â₠¬Å"Parents need to know what their children are being exposed to. Certainly, rap is not the only music that portrays negative stereotypes or can negatively impact behaviors, and not all rap music should be implicated.But there have been nearly 1,000 studies that have looked at the effects. † Kirchheimer shows a weak side by admitting that not all rap music should be implicated. He is rationale and does admit that all rap music is not the case. How he collects himself is by telling readers to be aware that the studies about the effects are true. He also uses emotional evidence by explaining that parents especially should be aware of what their children are watching and listening too. Aron's reaction to Kirchheimer response is that he recognizes that people are so influenced by rap music.People especially children see these rappers and replicate their behaviors. Curtis Aron spills one huge secret that most of the things rappers and artist say they do are bias. Aron writes, †Å"Many times, the rap artist is creating a fictionalized account of certain events for the purpose of intriguing and entertaining people and sometimes uses characters to facilitate those accounts†¦ This is no different from other forms of entertainment, in particular, the movie industry. When our favorite actor portrays a gun toting, drug using, highly sexual character in a movie, it is not seen as degenerate. He gives a broader and new perspective on how people should view these fictional characters. Rappers are much like fictional characters from movies. He explains that the things they do such as gun toting, drug using, and sexual innuendos are all for the purpose of intriguing and entertaining people. In the highly debated argument of rap music being a controversial issue, both Kirchheimer and Aron are identifying themselves as a scholarly source about the subject of rap music. Both understand and access reliable information to be used as a notable source.Through the Toulmi n model argument, both Sid Kirchheimer and Curtis Aron provide great strengths and explore the topic of rap to educate readers about their views. Kirchheimer states, that initially rap music automatically leaves a bad tastes in peoples mouth and provides good warrants and evidence to back his view. However, Aron proves that his argument is stronger as he educates that the readers that his warrant, the genre of rap music is blanketed by its popular view of being a negative influence. He gives evidence of both for and against the issue and expands over Kirchheimer's argument.