by James Spiller

Created on: June 23, 2008

Ancient Chinese culture understood that there are two sides to everything. One must accept the Ying with the Yang. The good with the bad. The divine with the evil. Nothing in this world is clear cut. Nothing is pure. This applies to everything, including hip-hop.

The ongoing debate about how media affects young children has been raging as long as media has existed. The question of whether or not children should be allowed to listen to rap music has electrified politicians and terrified concerned parents since hip-hop gained mainstream popularity in the late 1980's with the gangster rap explosion precipitated by the group, NWA. Containing lyrics filled with misogyny, drug use, violence, and explicit words, parents were immediately taken aback by NWA's mainstream popularity. Rap was no longer confined to urban street corners. It was on the radio, on the television, and all over white suburbia. It was reaching the children, and it didn't contain the most wholesome message.

Twenty years later and the debate continues. How does this music affect children? Do the lyrics about killing police officers, degrading women, abusing drugs and alcohol really change the way that children perceive the world they live in?

Yes. They do. The mind of a child is still in a developmental phase. It can easily be influenced, especially by those whom they look up to. We live in a time where people like 50 Cent, Eminem, and Jay-Z are adored and admired by a large portion of society. Upon closer inspection, however, these media "heroes" do not make for the most ideal role models. 50 Cent raps (stutters, if you will) about the supposed gangster lifestyle that he grew up in. Eminem makes a point of describing all the devilish and gruesome ways he would like to kill his ex-wife. Jay-Z, well, suffice it to say that he's one of the dumber humans on the planet. These people have become media icons. Icons with negative messages that are gobbled up and digested by children of all ages and walks of life.

While it is obvious that teaching kids the ins and outs of succeeding in the cocaine dealing business isnt the most morally correct decision, there is a Ying to hip-hops evil Yang. Though it may not be as popular in the media, or as widely consumed as Jay-Z's lyrical propaganda, there are positive messages to be found in hip-hop. There is intelligent, uplifting, and positive music in the hip-hop world and to deny these messages to children would be as egregious an error as letting them listen to the

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