Maryland county looking at rap music and GTA to blame for gang violence
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jan 30th 2008 at 11:30AM }
Poor Wicomico County in Maryland has a gang problem. There are "500 known gang members" currently in the county and it has the highest violent crime rate per capita in the state behind the city of Baltimore. What are county leaders to do but blame violent rap lyrics and video games?At a packed county meeting with several community leaders in attendance, Dan Dougherty, the director of the Wicomico County Gang Resistance, gave the money quote saying, "In Grand Theft Auto, you score points by killing cops, stealing cars and beating prostitutes ... In the '80s and '90s, you didn't have video games, you didn't have the violence in the media, you didn't have the Internet. It creates a lack of respect for life and makes violence acceptable."
According to The Daily Times, Dougherty's speech was a "crowd-pleaser." If Cooper Lawrence was in there she probably would have gotten a standing ovation. As sad as the Wicomico county crime problem is, saying that everything was hunky-dory before 1980 is just a little off. Hey, we've seen West Side Story! Sure, they may have danced to a murderous beat, but there were definitely gangs before those horrible '80s and '90s.
[Via GamePolitics]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
xFenixKnightx @ Jan 30th 2008 11:35AM
Haha love that pic..wuddup G money?!!! lol!
xFenixKnightx @ Jan 30th 2008 11:48AM
Que onda Fernando que tipo de musica te gusta loco?
Fernando Rocker @ Jan 30th 2008 11:49AM
Rock clasico... =)
De hecho, toco guitarra... me encata Dio, Don Dokken, Stryper, Skid Row... todo ese tipo de musica.
xFenixKnightx @ Jan 30th 2008 11:57AM
Cool, I jam alot of 80's classic rock! Y en espanol no eschuchas norteno? Ramon? Cadettes? Old school? O tambien puro rock en espanol?
Fernando Rocker @ Jan 30th 2008 11:59AM
Pues me encanta el rock en español... pero me encanta tambien Vicente Fernandez!
xFenixKnightx @ Jan 30th 2008 12:07PM
Yea Chente FTW!!
Tiptup300 @ Jan 30th 2008 3:21PM
Do gangsters really understand how to even hook up a game system.
Fernando Rocker @ Jan 30th 2008 11:37AM
Rap, Hip-Hop... sucks.
Nigeria @ Jan 30th 2008 11:54AM
Rock is tired, wrinkly, and balding.
It also suffers from an awful case of haemorrhoids.
It is also Wednesday.
Co @ Jan 30th 2008 11:57AM
god fernando shut up. until you form complete english sentences, shut up. And even then, shut up.
xFenixKnightx @ Jan 30th 2008 12:06PM
C'mon Fernando there are some good rappers out there. Some have past away but not ALL rap sucks.
Tupac
Big
Lil weezie
The Game
Nas
Dre
Eminem
Snoop
Busta
Young Jeezy
Cant stand Kanye but he jams i guess
Theres some true rappers out there. But right now I just cant stand all this Superman nonsense and little dance nonsense that comes out with each new goofy song that comes out.
Nigeria @ Jan 30th 2008 12:14PM
To be honest, most of the rappers you named are really average.
Apart from Nas...that list looks really poor.
xFenixKnightx @ Jan 30th 2008 12:17PM
You must not know your rap Nigeria, -1 End of convo.
Co @ Jan 30th 2008 12:21PM
See, I enjoy southern rap. Most people (mainly ones that dont listen to ANY rap genre) think ALL rap is based on lyrical prowress. That's HIP-HOP. Southern Rap starts with and only with the beat. Then the lyrics, while not poetically inducing, are usually along the lines of relating directly to the core listener. Many people outside that core base just dont get it, and discredit it.
Fernando Rocker @ Jan 30th 2008 12:23PM
Ronnie James Dio!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_DH6g-mRWY
Tamer Brad @ Jan 30th 2008 12:27PM
Co, considering he's learning English as it's not his first language, he's doing just fine.
Tamer Brad @ Jan 30th 2008 12:28PM
Also Fernando, while I agree with you that most rap/hip-hop is awful, there are some truly good artists out there. Check out an artist named k-os.
Nigeria @ Jan 30th 2008 12:37PM
Tupac/Biggie = I don't listen to people who died in awfully violent circumstances, also, there's a cult mentality around the duo that I find unsettling. It's a bit like that Ron Paul talk going on the internets at the moment.
Lil Wayne/Jeezy = garbage.
Snoop/Busta/Eminem = rapping about gibberish is not what's hot.
Dre = uses ghostwriters/can't release a solo album without a thousand guest features.
Game = ???
So like I said, Fenix, your list looks kinda weak.
But I listen to Princess Superstar, so what do I know
FidliousWong @ Jan 30th 2008 12:53PM
I don't know, Nigeria... I actually don't follow rap too much but here's my rebuttals.
Busta Rhymes I like because he speed raps and unlike most speedrappers, actually keeps a beat and you can understand him at all times.
Eminem I enjoy because, unlike most mainstream rappers, he actually keeps a beat. And I enjoy morbid music from time to time. Also, unlike other rappers like Master P, he accredits his sample sources and often invites them to duet (My current fav duet of him is where Twiggy and Marilyn joined him on a "The way I am" track).
But I can definately respect the Princess Superstar love. Especially after her track on The Return of Dr. Octagon. I want to hunt some more stuff up by her but not really motivated. She kinda just creeped into my Kool Keith.
But then again, I shouldn't say much because I tend to prefer the more dance party style hiphop. Uplifting stuff like Black Eyed Peas, Def Tech, and M-Flo.
Matt B @ Jan 30th 2008 1:29PM
That is the first comment I ever gave you a +1 on. :)
Matt B @ Jan 30th 2008 1:30PM
Not that it matters.
Co @ Jan 30th 2008 1:43PM
"there's a cult mentality around the duo that I find unsettling. It's a bit like that Ron Paul talk going on the internets at the moment."
Dude you're not lying about that. Whats up with that Ron Paul guy??
Me @ Jan 30th 2008 1:48PM
Making blanket statements about one type of music is what sucks. Actually, making blanket statements about anything sucks.
GRANTED @ Jan 30th 2008 1:51PM
Hip hop is pretty much dead.
But Lupe Fiasco is bringing it back.
Fernando: listen to "Hip Hop Saved My Life" or "Kick Push", and then tell me hip-hop sucks.
Nigeria @ Jan 30th 2008 1:53PM
Kool Keith is awesome.
Everyone should listen to Kool Keith.
Fidlious deserves a +1 for Kool Keith appreciation.
ThornedVenom @ Jan 31st 2008 2:56AM
This metal fan here respects rap and hiphop, and firmly believes that it has lost its way.
samfish @ Jan 30th 2008 11:37AM
I guess they have a bunch of gangs made up of lame white boys in Wicomico county?
Mr.ESC @ Jan 30th 2008 11:38AM
"The kids, they listen to the rap music. That gives them the brain damage. With the hippin and the hoppin and the bippin and the boppin, so they don't know what the jazz is all about! You see, jazz is like jello pudding. No, actually its more like Kodak film. No, actually jazz is like the New Coke. It'll be around forever. Heh heh heh.”
FidliousWong @ Jan 30th 2008 11:46AM
Bill Cosby is an unca tom!
Damn, it sounded stupid even in sarcasm...
B1gC72 - PSN: KillaKornbread @ Jan 30th 2008 12:09PM
dude plus 8000 for the Bill Cosby reference.
xFenixKnightx @ Jan 30th 2008 12:10PM
Mr. ESC
Hilarious +1
That is all.
paragraph @ Jan 30th 2008 11:39AM
I personally blame classical music for gang violence... have you ever heard that shit? It would make me want to shoot people with the wrong color cloths on too...
Drunkard @ Jan 30th 2008 11:41AM
Does violent gangs even bother to stay in and play video games like GTA?
KingMe @ Jan 30th 2008 11:42AM
Idiots, I call them.
And Fernando, I bet you only think of rap when I say Yung Joc, D4L, and all that crap that floods the radio right now. Why don't you take a listen to some rap that isn't commercialized, and maybe you're opinion would change.
It's kind of like me saying rock sucks when I've only heard Nickelback....I'm sure this is the same situation for many people ignorant to the many derivations there are in any specific genre of music
Fernando Rocker @ Jan 30th 2008 11:45AM
I listen to MUSIC... how much virtuosity do you have to have to play a rap song? None, because its a very monotone beat, with no technically difficul riffs, o guitar solos...
Lame music...
sicsided @ Jan 30th 2008 11:47AM
thank you for using nickelback as an example when you say "rock sucks". Cause, they truly do suck.
Trent Reznor and Saul Williams FTW!
FidliousWong @ Jan 30th 2008 11:48AM
Let's not get into this pissing contest. Seriously. It's an old ass arguement and Fernando, I've seen you argue this point before and it's like watching the a baby girl wander into a bullet train.
Fernando Rocker @ Jan 30th 2008 11:51AM
Trent Reznor sucks too.
FidliousWong @ Jan 30th 2008 12:05PM
Wait... WHAT?!? Trent Reznor sucks? The main who slaves over an album until he's sick sucks? The man who worries about every tone, every note, every single buzz in a vast majority of his tracks sucks? Okay, that's it...
Before Reznor, people were just "toying" with how computers could lend themselves to rock music. You either had people who went into the computer vibe (Devo), or simply liked the bleeps and bloops. Reznor was among the first to reverse engineer what computers could do for music. He paved the way for such acts as Gravity Kills, or Mad Capsule Markets. Reznor is a god among men.
riggs @ Jan 30th 2008 12:10PM
None, because its a very monotone beat, with no technically difficul riffs, o guitar solos...
listen to some ROOTS and ?uestlove (whom rock drummers have ultimate respect for) and then proceed to shut the fuck up while you get pwnt.
Mr.ESC @ Jan 30th 2008 12:31PM
"It's the next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways
It's still rock & roll to me.
Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound
Funny, but it's still rock and roll to me"
Grimmus @ Jan 30th 2008 1:15PM
We shouldn't have to wade through oceans of pure crap to find the one or two halfway decent tracks. The fact of the matter is that the majority of rap and hip-hop is based around violence, misogyny, and racism, and it's not worthwhile to have to listen to the mind-numbing ignorance and stupidity in the false hopes of finding something Martin Luther King Jr. wouldn't be ashamed of.
The rap and hip-hop communities already do stereotype and generalize rock, and pretty much any other form of real music, so I don't see the point in giving them a chance. The only time a rapper takes interest in music that doesn't involve sexually abusing women or ingesting copious amounts of illegal narcotics is when they can't think of any more beats and need to "remix" a techno song into the background of another god-awful track.
JJ @ Jan 30th 2008 1:41PM
Grimmus how is rock Real music and rap isn't? There's all kinds of music i may or may not listen too but i wouldnt outright say they aren't real music, anything that has a beat and can encourage people to dance, well, is real music to me, despite what you think of it.
and honestly if i just listen to what was playing on the radio, well, then all music is pretty much crap and can be stereotyped one way or another be it rap, hip hop, dance, pop, techno, rock, country, R&B, etc.
So as an earlier poster said, lets not turn this into a pissing contest over which forms of music YOU personally like better, because i'm sure there's 8 other people who will disagree with you on almost every point.
At the center, music will be highly personal to each person who listens to it and the same song from the same artist can be taken into widly different contexts by two different people, so in the end we're just arguing over opinions...which is dumb in and of itself.
As for the lyrics,etc, Artist make/sing rap/rock/dance what have you, to what sells, its how they make money sadly, so they do what they do to sell records, if that means rapping about buying cars or yelling to mindless drum beats in rock music, if it sells, they'll do it. Similar in a way that video game companies will churn out sequel after sequel, because it sells cant blame em for trying to make money? as somebody IS buying it.
Grimmus @ Jan 30th 2008 5:50PM
Real music has something more creative than, as previously mentioned, a guy yelling into the mic with random beats in the background; rhythms that change, melodies that evolve, and vocals that aren't nearly entirely curse words.
I have very broad horizons when it comes to music. I'm not a fan of everything out there, but I don't have an extreme dislike towards the things I'm just not a fan of; Most of them are pretty good, and I have no issues stating that, but they just don't happen to be within my general preferences enough that I'd listen to them on a daily basis.
Modern day rap and hip-hop are, more often than not, comprised of nothing more than ignorance, hate, bigotry, and extreme levels of vulgarity, among the aforementioned negative qualities. Nickleback doesn't live off of albums based around smoking bowls; Trent Reznor doesn't survive on the sounds of grown men smacking bitches up; and Smash Mouth doesn't prosper over acts of violence and murder against other people.
This isn't an issue of what music I like and what music you like, it's an issue of the deplorable content that two genres make an active lifestyle out of, and the people who are following what's spoken as if it was the word of God. Violence and hate are not the ways of the common person, but if you try to tell any of the million ignorant rappers and fans, you're likely to get beat down, shanked, or shot.
JJ @ Jan 30th 2008 7:03PM
But grim, if thats what people are buying, it becomes the chicken and the egg scenario.
Trust me, if nobody bought those albums, nobody would make em, simple as that.
Just like if people didnt like popcorn mainstream movies, they wouldnt be raking in hundreds of millions of dollars and all we'd get is critically acclaimed "There will be blood" type movies.
But thats simply not the case. People will like garbage, its the lowest common denominator, for every great rock and roll artist, there's 10 crappy ones, for every great and relevant rapper, there's 10 crappy ones who make one hit and dissappear.
yes there's a bunch of crap in rap music, but its no worse than rock, dance, pop, etc. Dont forget there was a time when rock and roll was as reviled as rap is today.
only thing i'm aruging against is making blanket statements on a whole genre off of the actions of, what is really a few more popular and undesirable elements.
Need i bring up the controversy over GTA or Mass effect that makes the media color are whole genre of gaming as corrupt?
Would you base the entire gaming culture off of just Halo or GTA? No. So i dont think its fair to base an entire genre over the actions of a vocal few.
Its equivalent to saying all rock is about now a days is depressing tones and kids wanting to killt hemselves because they feel like their the "Cool" outsiders.
Thats not true, I know it isnt, but thats the same as saying all rap is about money, thugs, and calling women a B*tch.
Grimmus @ Jan 31st 2008 12:54AM
Rock got a lot of flak when it was first introduced because it was something new, something different, something that my parent's parents didn't understand, so it was hated and, as mentioned, reviled. The original incarnations of rap weren't bad because they weren't try to push the "thug life" attitude and mindset, but people buy into it so easily nowadays that it's disgusting. Rappers are cashing in on the mindless masses who want to have every possible reason to say they're "ghetto" and "hard", just as all the emos and Mansonites buy a ton of crap from Hot Topic to look punk or goth. The key difference is in what the genres are promoting, as I've rambled about plenty previously.
A lot of rock sucks, sure. A lot of electronica sucks, a lot of country sucks, and a lot of goth sucks. However, it's easy to find what you like and don't like because there's a lot of variety within those genres, and a lot of them overlap at certain points because they mesh and meld in entertaining and creative ways. Rap and hip hop are more of the same predictable garbage that, unless a song is "remixed" into the background of a track or Linkin Park steps in, never change genre, never change style.
Saul Williams is the only man connected to rap in some way that I can give credit to, and he deserves a lot of credit; He's original, he's creative, he's not afraid to speak his mind, and he often does so against the stereotypes that the "ghetto" culture purposely and continually perpetuates. However, he's also the exception to the rule, because the stereotypes of rap and hip hop are, unfortunately, the facts of rap and hip hop. The best we can do is speak our minds and try to curb the ignorance and hate that the genre repeats.
ThornedVenom @ Jan 31st 2008 3:03AM
Good lord Fernando, don't be so closed-minded on music!
Rap used to be about poetry and about the expression of the miserable ghetto life, with no glory in it.
Music is the audio expression of art: how could you imply that just because rap isn't based on a dexterous accomplishment that means that it cannot contain as much emotional and inspirational value?
FidliousWong @ Jan 30th 2008 11:45AM
Everyone knows Playstation predates violence. GOD!
ThornedVenom @ Jan 31st 2008 3:05AM
Everyone knows that God predates violence. PLAYSTATION!
killploki @ Jan 30th 2008 11:57AM
Well I dont agree that video games are directly responsible for creating violence in society, you cant argue that gangs today are much worse than those back before the 80's. It seems there is much less respect for human life today.
Maybe it is violence in tv and movies, maybe it is the internet where you can watch videos of murders and suicides, and maybe it is partially violent videogames that all desensitize younger people and blur the boundary between right and wrong for them....