Rap music, race, and perceptions of crime

Abstract

Scholars who study rap music have long expressed concerns that criticism of the genre is inextricably linked to stereotypes of young Black men in the United States. Yet minimal research has empirically examined how rap music is linked to race in ways that legitimize and maintain anti‐Black attitudes, particularly attitudes related to crime. This article reviews how scholars have typically challenged seemingly racialized concerns about rap music before surveying the handful of studies that empirically examine attitudes related to rap music, race, and crime. In so doing, this essay highlights a growing need for broader conceptualizations of race/ethnicity and social control.

‘When whites catch a cold, black folks get pneumonia’: a look at racialized poverty, space and HIV/AIDS

“…This kind of violence encompasses institutional racism, disease-ridden environments, stigma, and barriers preventing populations from getting adequate employment and social services like healthcare (Berkovitz, 2020;Lane et al, 2004). Moreover, the conceptualization of places as 'Black spaces' have contributed to inadequate responses for issues of police brutality and public health crises (Bonam et al, 2017;Dunbar, 2019). 1 The factors that make these spatial-structural violence(s) possible are the interrelated systems of the production of social space and racialized poverty which is used as justification for this abuse .…”

“…Attitudes about rap music provide an important example of how anti-Black attitudes, specifically those about criminality, can be articulated without ever mentioning race (Dunbar, 2019). Anti-rap attitudes are not only associated with negative stereotypes and prejudice toward Black people but inform policies that negatively target urban Black people (Reyna et al, 2009).…”

“…However, regardless of its origins, what can be widely agreed upon is that rap music has had a controversial relationship with the criminal justice system. 13 Politicians, the media, and the public at large have criticized rap music for its references to violence, drug use, criminal activities and misogyny (Crenshaw, 1991;Dunbar, 2019).…”

“…When compared to other music genres that are also criticized for promoting violence, rap music is still viewed as 'uniquely dangerous'. Even though heavy metal and rap music both reference violence and defiance of authority, rap music is more likely to be characterized as inspiring youth to commit crime by the media (Dunbar, 2019). Some scholars and political activists argue that criticism of rap, and particularly the legal response to rap music, is merely another form of racial profiling and that concerns about rap are in reality concerns about 'someone who already looms as a threatening stereotype in the minds of society' (Dunbar, 2019).…”

“…Even though heavy metal and rap music both reference violence and defiance of authority, rap music is more likely to be characterized as inspiring youth to commit crime by the media (Dunbar, 2019). Some scholars and political activists argue that criticism of rap, and particularly the legal response to rap music, is merely another form of racial profiling and that concerns about rap are in reality concerns about 'someone who already looms as a threatening stereotype in the minds of society' (Dunbar, 2019). Scholars also highlight how rap music is rooted within a broader entertainment culture that glamorizes violence, and that rappers face unique pressures to construct a hyper-aggressive, hyper-masculine persona in order to be more marketable by record labels.…”