But I Heard It in a Song!
By: Enrique Rivera
Tags: Music, Movements, Racism, Rap, Drugs

Music can be used to promote both negative and positive things, and currently, the relationship between drugs and music has grown exponentially, and this is only one of the negative things music is used to promote. “Records with drug-related lyrics now make up 5–6 percent of all records produced. In 1980, that number was more like 1 percent” (“Does the Music Industry Promote Drug Use?”). Also, it is very apparent we have a problem today with stereotypes in music. I have personally met people that justify their actions “just because they saw someone else doing it or saying it,” and this included songs. Music is often used to voice an opinion, for example, in the song “Power” by Kendrick Lamar and Lance Skiiiwalker, he says “Badge make police feel powerful in the hood, Guns make us feel powerful but they don’t do no good, I know my blackness powerful and they don’t like that.” This is a perfect example of how people use songs to voice their opinions. But what happens when their opinions are not sane nor just? Music then promotes stereotypes of individuals from different sexes and races, so artists and producers should be more careful about what they include in their products, and how they manage them.

Throughout history, singers and celebrities of all genres and age groups have influenced their audiences. The influence that they have on the individuals could be positive or negative for various reasons. Throughout the psychedelic era into the 1970’s, the singers not only influenced people, but created movements for anti-war protest and the legalization of recreational drugs, encouraging the use of substances through the mindset that drugs will “free the mind.” According to an article by Hoffman, “The psychedelic era evolved out of the social consciousness movement engendered by a commitment to civil rights, anti-war protest, the legalization of recreational drugs, and other issues on the part of the youth subculture” (“Psychedelia”). Despite this quote highlighting the 1960’s and 70’s, it also highlights today’s culture as well. Current celebrities hold a large amount of power and don’t realize the impact that they have on individuals, so it’s important for them to exercise their voices, but they must be cautious about the words they express into the public space. In the year 1988, a group of younger African American individuals called the N.W.A. became well known after releasing a song that highlighted sensitive topics within society. This song was controversial due to targeting police brutality towards minorities, especially African Americans. “‘Fuck Tha Police’ appears as the second song on the album, the narrative highlights the ongoing tensions between African American urban youth and law enforcement. The song stands out amongst the rest because of its controversial message” (Hip-Hop & Politics). This song had such a large impact on society by creating mass controversy. It was so controversial that the FBI became involved by sending a letter to Priority Records advising of the negative and harmful effects of the song. Since the FBI only sent a letter and didn’t get into a legal battle with the record company, the FBI blamed the release of the song as the cause of the attacks on police, no matter if the attacks were actually caused by the song or for a different reason. Even though this song was released 32 years ago, it still has relevance today. Recently after the death of George Floyd, the song “Fuck Tha Police” became popular again to the public, which increased streaming of the already popular song by an outstanding 550% after this event. According to Pandora streaming service, “Over the last week, N.W.A.’s fierce indictment of racial injustice, ‘Fuck tha Police,’ has become the anthem of a revolution, as thousands all over the world have taken to the streets in outrage over the wrongful killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police” (“How N.W.A’s ‘Fuck tha Police’ Became the ‘Perfect Protest Song’”). These movements and the events that occurred throughout history have shown the wide impact that music has in our society and how powerful it has become.

Furthermore, the effects of creating stereotypes in songs has shown that each individual’s perception of an idea varies. For example, someone may create an image in their head that tends to be false, but that image can represent value for a person’s race, gender, etc. This idea has affected segregation in a public society. According to the authors of the article “The Threatening Nature of ‘Rap’ Music,” Adam Dunbar, Charis E. Kubrin, and Nicholas Scurich from the University of California, “While lyrics from other genres are interpreted as satirical or artistic, rap music is considered offensive and threatening. Police, judges, and jurors run the risk of using stereotypes about rap music when interpreting lyrics, particularly when prosecutors present rap lyrics as autobiographical confessions.” This statement describes the dangers that can evolve from stereotypes and how stereotypes can drive up the risk factor when bringing it into a conversation. For example, someone may be stereotyped just based on their looks, without truly knowing the individual. This can bring risk to the stereotyped individual because their looks may present a certain idea to an individual’s mind, but that idea has the potential of being completely wrong. In today’s society, we’re so used to stereotyping individuals, because we grew up hearing certain things about specific races. That article also focuses on another important idea, which is how the lyrics within songs can be used against an individual in the court of law and that many prosecutors have used this method to incriminate many people. “Stereotyping is even found to impact evaluations of a defendant’s culpability” (Dunbar et al.). Songs can create positive effects throughout society, instead of creating negative impacts. For example, “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath was successful at this attempt when they wanted to create something positive that would propel society in a better direction. This song exercises Black Sabbath’s view of the Vietnam War, fighting authority by boldly claiming that this war was a “self-profit war” for the government. They thought that the United States government was using the Vietnam War for economical gain, while American lives were being endangered every day. Many soldiers were living in a constant nightmare, thinking that they were fighting for their country, but instead were fighting for a different reason. This song was an “anti-war song that over a gloomy, dense wall of sound paints a vivid picture of the carnage of war and criticizes politicians and military officials for perpetuating conflicts for their own benefit” (‘War Pigs’ — Black Sabbath). This group Black Sabbath used their voices and talents to combat the US government by making bold statements within their songs and casting a large influence over the minds of individuals. Black Sabbath was aware of the impact that they had over people and used it towards their advantage. They sang in a way that persuaded people into believing their ideologies, as well as spreading awareness about things that weren’t heading in a positive direction for the country.