Gangsta rap encourages listeners to criminality. This is so on two levels. First, it sometimes uses language that actively incites crime, for example encouraging weapons use, spousal abuse or homophobic attacks. Secondly, it glorifies a lifestyle that is rich with imagery of criminality (e.g. gun use and drug dealing) and this sends out a subconscious but consistent message affirming criminality.

Gangsta rap is especially pernicious because it targets the youth market at a crucial, receptive adolescent age. Gangsta rappers clearly seek to appeal to a receptive youthful audience, which is why so many of their images use young people and songs refer to events which would strike an especial chord with adolescents and young adults. This is irresponsible, as it represents an attempt by gangsta rappers to use their power to influence young people with a subversive, anti-societal message.

Gangsta rap is socially corrosive because it affirms negative stereotypes. Much gangsta rap revolves around the affirmation of stereotypes, such as black violence and wife beating. It purports to be social realism but in fact conveys a very selective portrayal of life which reinforces already damaging social stereotypes, of groups who are often poorly placed to campaign successfully by themselves against such portrayal. It is therefore right for government to censor such negative stereotyping, as it often does when regulating e.g. race relations or criminal acts.

The government has a moral legitimacy in censoring. People correctly look to the government as the public arbiter of common morals, for the wider social good. It is in line with this role, therefore, for the government to take such steps as it thinks necessary to protect the public morality. This may include censorship of things which are likely to cause moral harm, an approach often manifested in e.g. film classification schemes.

Censorship would be an effective method of keeping gangsta rap out of the hands of the people who are most susceptible to suffering from its corrosive message. Those who would proactively go to some lengths to obtain the material through black market channels in the event of censorship are not the intended target for such a censorship to affect.

I remember when I was younger I used to listen to Rap and Hip Hop. It made me think it was "cool" to be a gangster and sell crack. My role model was 2pac, a gangster who was killed because of a rivalvry he had with another ganster, Biggie Smalls, who by the way was killed 6 months later. It did affect my behavior a lot. I was a rude little runt because I thought it was "cool". If I could go back in time, I'd kick my own ass for letting that garbage get into my head.

Luckily, I matured. I realized that it is not "cool" to be a criminal. Being a criminal makes you a loser and having these people as role models for our children is disgusting. The worse thing is that the media glorifies these criminals and have TV shows showing off their mansions. What does that make a kid think? Hey, if I sell crack and rob people like the music says, I'll have a mansion!

The problem is that it can't be censored. The Constitution protects the freedom of speech. If they do censor it, we'd lose of of our freedoms and end up living like they do in Venezuela, where Hugo Chavez censors anything he doesn't like.

What can be done is that we stop glorifying crime. Talk to your kids about what they listen to and what they think about it. Give them a new role model. If your kid wants to be "cool", encourage him to take sports or hit the gym. Being healthy is a lot more effective way of gaining the ladies attention than trying to rob them.

Rap is merely a way for non-white people to use their troubled history and backgrounds as an excuse to offend people and negatively influence them. Instead of trying to improve themselves and prove that they are equal to white people, they think they have the right to glorify all of the negative activity that runs rampant in their communities, especially since they are protected by the amendment that allows unrestricted non-violent expression. The gods supposingly created this particular amendment out of purity of heart, but how in heck are THEIR moralities flawless? Even hypothetical glorification of malevolent messages - which in this case, written lyrics in rap music - can indirectly affect listeners - the listeners subconciously, and by biological human nature, take the lyrics to heart, are affected by them, are influenced by them, and are ultimatly even PERSUADED by them due to propagandization and compositional appeal about the music and the lyrical content it contains. So take a stand and FIGHT to ban rap and other music with ANY offensive lyrical content! To initiate the process to craft our world to perfection!

Gangsta Rap is just freedom of urban expression. Parents should explain to their kids that the lyrics represent just a fantasy.