Music and Lyrics

by Bushkids

When we listen to music, what do we really hear? Is it just the beat – the dope bassline? Or do we hear the lyrics at another more subconscious level? There have been stories abound of young people who commit heinous crimes, the Columbine shootings and more recently in South Africa the so called Samurai Sword Killer. It is claimed that they all listened to bands such as Slipknot and this influence is what led them to do what they did. Is this really an argument that we can afford to put forward to justify such actions? What about agency? We have the willpower to choose to end lives. In the same manner, we have the agency to choose which music we listen to. Can we in the same breath say that Hip Hop and Rap music compels young people to lifestyles of alcohol abuse and risky sexual behaviour? Or is this just another excuse? We concluded that the messages within the music although most are not ideal, the individual listening chooses whether or not to exercise their agency in relation to the manner in which they behave. By blaming the music they listen to for their actions, they then relinquish their agency and in so doing avoid taking responsibility and facing the consequences.