My 10-year old cousin knows all the “cuss words” in existence yet he’ll pee on himself before letting any one of those s-words, or n-words crawl out of his mouth. He listens to Hip Hop diligently (well, the urban radio’s version of Hip Hop). Forget the political arm of this intense debate. FCC apart, is it morally correct to expose children to raw rap songs? Would you, as a die-hard Hip Hop fan, play the unedited version of Cypress Hill’s “How I Could Just Kill A Man” to your 8 year-old’s hearing?
There’s no right way to do the wrong thing. Children under 15 years of age are in the most fragile period of their life. That’s what I like to call the “Grooming Phase” usually characterized by habit-forming. Like a sponge, most kids in that age range would absorb the most dominant nutrients you have to offer, unfiltered. So, it would be absolutely detrimental to their psyche to expose kids to music, and movies containing strong images, visual or verbal.
Of course they’ll later find out for themselves that their most adorable favorites like Ice Cube and Dr. Dre once made violent songs filled with descriptions of misogyny and death threats. Later, when they’re probably old enough to understand. Notice my choice of words:”descriptions of…”. In other words, I’m not arguing that such songs were portrayed actual lifestyles of these hardcore rappers. I’m merely saying that such details should be left for the older audience.
Most adults are mature enough to sift the truth from the reality, while very few ‘youngsters’ even understand the difference. If video games are carnal enough to corrupt young minds, then there’s no arguing the fact that violent music is sure to dissensitize a frail mind after much exposure.