By: Kennedi Drake
In today’s generation, the media produces extreme negative impressions on the youth. Rap artists of today specifically mention the use of drugs in their music mixed with other unsafe scenarios. Social media allows an outlet to inappropriate music videos and people taking part in reckless activity. These instances ultimately damage the youth into believing that it is okay to partake in harmful activities without any harsh consequences. Media influences young people to try drugs through song lyrics or music videos. These factors leave horrible impressions on the youth.
Rappers enjoy talking about using drugs as an escape from life traumas with their upbeat melodies and sound which allows the audience to feel that this is okay to do. Rap and hip-hop artist mention the use of drugs with activities such as driving, partying, sexual activity, and to cure mental distress. For example, artist Juice Wrld states in his song Righteous, “Five or six pills in my right hand, codeine running over on my nightstand. Taking medicine to fix all of the damage, my anxiety the size of a planet.” Juice Wrld repeatedly talked about drugs in his music until his death. Young listeners are drawn to finding ways to make their lives easier, and their minds are not fully developed enough to know that there are healthier options to relieve stress and anxiety. Artists commonly talk about lean which is a mixture of codeine and promethazine. For example, Chief Keef says in his song “Ight Doe", "I don’t drink liquor, but I drink lean though” (Tettey 50). Here, Chief Keef talks about lean as if it is better than other drugs and not deadly. It’s a common misconception that certain drugs are not harmful which increases premature death. An older audience may listen to the music and understand that participating in these activities will lead to prison or death. The youth, however, have minds that are still developing so listening to outlandish music can cause them to disregard the difference between right and wrong and think of themselves as invincible. They will believe that they can do harsh drugs and not face consequences because their favorite rappers do it and encourage it.
The more a song possesses harsh lyrics about drug abuse, the more successful it is. In the article The Miseducation of Hip-Hop, it is noted that the most successful songs on the 2017 billboard charts contain lyrics about selling cocaine, smoking, and popping pills such as Ecstasy, Percocet, Xanax, or Fentanyl (Coleman 15). People are more interested in listening to outlandish music, because it opens their mind to a new world that is different from theirs and exciting.
Others may argue that young people fall to drugs due to poor parenting and lifestyles; for instance, a child who grew up in an unsafe neighborhood with parents who sold cocaine for living will be likely to fall into their parents' footsteps and use violence to solve their problems. According to the article Rebellious Teens, more heritable attitudes are psychologically stronger than attitudes less influenced by genetics (Abrahamson 2). Because genetic makeup is so strong, it is more complicated for people to fight against it or change their behaviors in the future.
Rappers provide a false reality of what pleasure is to young adults and children by making them think that they can-do drugs while driving, participating in sexual activity, and having fun. It has been proven that people who listen to hip hop and rap are more likely to become addicts and change their behaviors based on what their favorite rapper talks about in their music. Rappers show that being high all the time is pleasurable, fun, and can be done without any harsh consequences. Overall adolescents are easily attracted to drugs because of music which causes premature death. It is not until one becomes too addicted that they are knowledgeable that the once exhilarating high can turn into a death sentence.
Works Cited
Abrahamson, Amy C.” Rebellious teens? Genetic and Environmental Influences on the Social Attitudes of Adolescents, Research Gate Jan. 2003
Tettey, Naa-Solo. “Purple Drank, Sizzurp, and Lean: Hip-Hop Music and Codeine Use, A Call to Action for Public Health Educators.” Semantic Scholar, International Journal of Psychological Studies, 2020,
Coleman, Semaj. The Miseducation of Hip-hop: a Descriptive Analysis of Substance Usage, Abuse, and Drug Sales in Popular Rap Music, Chicago State University, Ann Arbor, 2019. ProQuest
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