When we ask, “What’s REALLY Going on With Our Teens?” the picture is incomplete without taking a look at the impact music and culture has on them. It is true that from generation to generation in Hip-Hop culture, each era has had its own THING. Whether it be fashion, slang or attitude; it is clear the look, sound and feel are very different from true school to new school.

In my time alone, and from what I’ve studied prior to my debut, the game has changed on all fronts. While I’m unsure of the percentages, I am sure that hip-hop has worked positively to inspire the youth, and negatively in helping the degradation of our young boys and girls across not just on this continent but in the world over. In either case, people can’t get enough of it, and undoubtedly, they can’t live without it.

Hip-Hop artists and producers of today have an amazing amount of power and influence over this generation of music lovers. Back in the day, sex, drugs and rock & roll were the norm in the life of a rocker who ONLY lived, and sometimes literally died, for the music. Today, a large number of rap artists are boasting about a life they “might be” living or lived at some point, but kids are being fed the message that “this is the life to live.”

What’s true, whether we approve of it or not, is that our kids are being raised by the artists of today who are promoted and marketed by huge corporations looking to make money off of them. Oftentimes kids may hear words from their favorite artists far more frequently throughout the day than from their own parents. We know that words have ALL the POWER so when lyrics are being taken in, consciously or not, they have an effect. If someone calls you stupid long enough, with no one to counter it by calling you smart or intelligent, you may begin to believe you are less than.

Sadly enough, in most settings be it here in the US or abroad, what you look like determines how you are treated. There are many reasons why a young male may wear his pants half past his butt cheeks, but the streets say the ONLY reason he does so is because he’s looking for attention. In reality, it’s far more complicated than that.
Unfortunately, young boys are looking to their hip hop icons to teach them how to be men, but alarming lyrics that disrespect women, men and children and ultimately themselves, show those rappers haven’t become men themselves.

It’s not just the boys who are emulating what they see. When a young girl’s desire is to dress like her favorite female Hip Hop artist, her doing so isn’t out of the norm. However, I don’t believe that same young girl is taking into consideration that what that artist wears on stage, in videos, or even on the red carpet is usually a costume and not appropriate to wear to school or out in the world. Knowing the difference between what is meant for the stage versus everyday wear is where our teens need to be educated.

For those of us in the music industry, we must be aware that our lyrics, the way we dress, and the lives we live are influencing young people and setting either a good example or a bad one. For those of you who are parents, you must make sure to take the time to counteract the negative images out there and educate young people about the realities that exist behind the lyrics… Your kids and society will be all the better for it later on.

–Lyte

To read parts 1 & 2 of this series, click HERE.