Gangsta Rap Controversy

In the 1980s, we saw many different genres of music emerge, genres such as Pop, Rock, and R&B. But a new genre emerged that sparked a lot of controversy: “Gangsta Rap” otherwise known as Hip Hop. Rappers/Rap groups such as NWA, Run DMC, Big Daddy Kane, and more changed the industry with catchy tunes and lyrics that talked about hard topics like slavery, violence, and police brutality. These lyrics sometimes caused major conflict, whether between races or with civilians and police. Hip Hop was very controversial in the 80s. “Gangsta rap” has caused a lot of controversy, many people protested this music in the late 80s and 90s due to the message within its lyrics and what those lyrics conveyed. Many accused “Gangsta Rap” for promoting things

In the early 2000s, controversy from rap music happened again. Eminem made his return to the rap game with his new album titled “The Marshall Mathers LP,” and one particular song on the album sparked a lot of controversy that song is “Kill You.” A line from the song reads: "S***, you think I won 't choke no w****/till the vocal cords don 't work in her throat no more?" This song blew up; most people were now against Eminem because he promoted violence against women. In October of 2000, Eminem went to perform at Toronto’s Sky Dome, where he was stopped at Canada’s border. Eminem was stopped because Canada’s Attorney General Jim Flaherty didn’t want any part of Eminem in Toronto. The Attorney General would explain his actions stating: “I personally don’t want anyone coming to Canada, who will come here and advocate violence against women….I read the words, the words were not subtle. They were violent, they advocated violence, they praised violence against women, physical assaults, battery on women and that’s not acceptable to me.” Does Eminem really promote violence against women? Many sided with Eminem, saying that the song’s lyrics have no true meaning as Eminem said himself, he made the song just to be messed up just so he could push the envelope he doesn’t promote what he was saying, and he just wanted everyone to know that he was back in the rap game. Many fans continued to back Eminem by saying he’s a rapper it’s his job to be offensive and push the

But the possibly one of the most controversial songs in rap came from Ice-T’s album the “Body count.” The song is titled “Cop Killer,” the title alone should indicate the type of controversy this song sparked. The song like NWA’s “F the Police” was a song about protest against police brutality, but many didn’t see it that way. Some argued that the song would cause immense crime and violence against law enforcement and others. CLEAT a large group of law enforcement in Texas wanted to put a stop to Ice T’s song, so they had called for a boycott for all products Time warner just so they would remove the song and the albums from stores. Due to this the songs sales went up 370 percent it even got attention from then current president George H.W. bush who