Does Rap Influence Alcohol and Drug Abuse?

According to The Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, rap listeners are prone to Alcohol and drug abuse and also violence. Their study indicates that

The study, published today in the May issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol, surveyed over 1,000 students aged 15 to 25. Students were asked about their music listening habits, alcohol use, illicit drug use and aggressive behaviors, such as getting into fights and attacking or threatening others. Researchers emphasize that the survey results cannot determine whether listening to certain music genres leads to alcohol or illicit drug use or aggressive behavior. Young people with tendencies to use alcohol or illicit drugs or to be aggressive may be drawn to particular music styles.

This is more evidence that The State Of . . . Hip Hop suffers in the hands big corporatations. Remember the days when alcohol wasn’t talked about in Rap music? But, just like Colt 45 realized how much black people like Billy Dee, they soon realized that we loved and were listening too rap music. Now major rappers actively look to get partnership deals with Alcohol companies.

Black children actually drink less than youth in general. However, Black youth between the ages of 12-20 are being bombarded with 66% more advertising for beer and ale and 81% more for distilled spirits with cognac and brandy being more heavily advertised. So Black people have done a good job up till now in keeping our children from abusing alcohol. However, this constant barrage in magazines and Hip Hop threatens to erode our gains.