RAP MUSIC GLORIFYING DRUG USE!!!

Rap music is glamorizing drug use according to a study by researchers at the Universityof california, Berkeley, who found a six fold increase in drug references in songs over the past two decades.

 “Positive portrayals of drug use have increased over time and drug references increased overall,” study author Denise Herd, associate deam of students at the School of Pblic Health, said in a prepared statement. 

 “This is an alarming trend, as a rap artists are role models for the nation’s youth, especially in urban areas. Many of these young people are already at risk and need to get positive mesages from the media,” Herd said.

 She and her colleagues analyzed 341 lyrics frm he most popular rap songs between 1979 and 1997. During that time, references to drugs increased six fold, and there was an increase in songs featuring positive attitudes toward drugs and the consequences of drug use, and an increase in references of drug use to signify glamour, wealth and sociability. In types of drugs mentioned in rap songs.

 Of the 38 most popular rap songs between 1979 and 1984, only 4 (11%) contained drug references. By the late 1980s, that increased to 19% and by 1993, to 69%.

 These findings indicate “a shift from cautionary songs, such as those that emphasized the dangers of cocaine and crack, to songs that signify the use of marijuana and the drugs as part of a desirable hiphop lifestyle, “ Herd said.

 For example, she noted that references to cough medicine abuse in lyrics from Southwestern groups performing an underground RAP GENRE called “Screw Music” may be linked to high numbers of houston teens abusing codeine-laced cough syrup.

 “Rap music is like CNN for black teens. But much of what is discussed in rap is in code. The kids unerstand, but parents don’t,” said Herd, who recommended parents monitor ther children’s music and learn about the terms used in popular songs.

 The study was published in the April issue of Addictio Reseach & Theory.

 Earlier research by Herd found that alcohol use in increasingly glorified in RAP MUSIC.

s0urce: http://www.berkeley.edu/news/in_news/archives/20080402.shtml; a journal from berkely healthday news!!!

EXCEPTION: ONLY CHRISTIAN RAP!!!