The rapper who believes hip-hop is “dangerous” to kids
Most rap artists don’t look down on the genre or discourage people from listening to their own music. However, on rare and exceptional occasions, MCs will express their negative opinions about the state of the culture and the less celebratory impacts it can sometimes have.
In the 1990s, Lil Kim spoke on The Oprah Show to discourage young girls from listening to her music after a mother insisted that the female rapper’s sexual language was influencing her 12-year-old daughter.
However, these occasions are rare, and musicians rarely tell particular consumers not to listen to their material, let alone admit that the music they make is corrupting. But, last year, during an appearance on The Danza Project podcast, notorious Brooklyn artist Bobby Shmurda insisted that hip-hop music is “dangerous” to children.
During his discussion with the hosts Danza and Kato, the previously incarcerated emcee revealed that he has reflected on the impact lying rappers have on children, explaining, “These kids are following you guys, and you’re rapping about these f**king lifestyles… and it’s very dangerous to the communities. These little kids think that’s going on, and you didn’t even live it.”
Shmurda spoke about how hip-hop used to speak about hustling to make yourself better and insisted that those are the kinds of stories that are needed now, asserting, “Rap is supposed to be telling muthaf**kas to go from negative to positive, coming from poverty to go to riches… and how to stay in that and how to change. That’s the sh*t that I want to hear. I wanna hear about living life. I don’t know nothing about no rappers. The only time I listen to rap is when I’m in the club. A guy could say, ‘F*ck Bobby Shmurda’ in a song, and I wouldn’t even know who they’re playing.”
To many, Shmurda’s stance may seem hypocritical, considering that when he exploded onto the scene in 2014 with ‘Hot N*gga’, he was seen as one of the biggest glorifiers of violence in hip-hop. However, he quickly found out that his approach to life wasn’t working for him as, in 2016, after accepting a plea deal, he was imprisoned for firearm possession and more. Still, he had an epiphany while incarcerated.
During the interview, he also emphasised that there is a big difference in his eyes between being an artist and being a rapper. That said, he asserted that he only falls into the artist category and doesn’t need or want to be associated with rappers.
Since his release in 2021, he has admitted that he really doesn’t want “to be a part of the rap game.” However, one thing he has had an opinion on is the various RICO cases going on, and in 2023, he released ‘Rats’ to address hip-hop’s “snitches”.