Hey motherfuckers, this thread is about Unicorns!
And for that matter blaming music is one of the most ignorant things you can do. You might as well blame violence on video games.
Rap music is not bad, no genre is bad. You can find good variations of any kind of music. Judge a song for a song, or at least a band for a band. Judging entire genres because you don't like them is close minded.
Yo, some nights we got so drunk
Its like we miss the feeling
Of a never ending headache
And a spinning ceiling
The sob story of an alcoholic
On his hands and knees
Praying to that porcelain toilet
Whether behind bars or in front of scars
We use medicine to numb the rap bar
I might tell you something that'll change your death
Pain kills the life
Pleasure loves the breath
That does not sound like a song advocating drug use to me. Of course Cannibal Ox is insanely fucking talented, so take it as you like. Their music is full of metaphor and wonderful word use. As a writer it is like chocolate for me to listen to these guys rap. They flow well, they have great beats, and again the lyrics are full of heart and talent. I love rock music, all kinds of it, but credit is due where it is earned. Rap music is a very misunderstood genre of music these days, but I blame the media more than anything. That and people buying the bad rap music.
Again, music is so free, and blaming it for anything or hating music you haven't even heard is dumb. Even then it is best to accept that other people do enjoy it, and there must be SOME redeeming quality about it. As open minded as I speak I am a hypocrite as you can see from my previous paragraph, as I do judge some music harshly. Then again, no one is perfect. Some music is clearly bad to me, but that doesn't mean I won't give it a chance.
People DO need to think, a lot of people just let themselves slide through life. If anything good music can stimulate the thought process. Black metal, indie(inb4 another music freak yells at me for including this), ska, rap, etc. all of them have their own artists that really promote thinking. Of any kind, be it fantasy (UNICORNS YEEEEAH!), political issues, and of course issues in society. All of these things can be looked at as a good things, helping people take more interest in different subjects, if only to better understand where their favorite artists are coming from.
In the end it comes down to, as many wise people have said in the past, parents to help guide their children. Censoring them clearly is more difficult than it was 20-30 years ago, so maybe guide means a little more these days. Help them better understand what they are learning or listening to. What they are seeing, maybe then kids wouldn't be so confused and lost. Currently kids are out on the internet, like I was, having more information pass their their heads than anyone previously thought possible. And of course not all of this information is for children. How much can be stopped is just so limited though!
Instead of putting barriers up around people, we should work harder at being on the other side of doors. Helping others learn or process what is going on in this screwed up planet.
And that is why unicorns are awesome (hope my rant made sense).