Trying to figure out if he’s the one? Listen to his playlist. A lot of the time, you can tell who a person is and what they value through the music they listen to. Now let’s face it, most guys out there are listening to rap. Whether it’s Lil Baby, Roddy Rich, or Future, boys usually have some sort of rap song on their playlist. I have nothing against rap music, in fact, I listen to a good amount of it. But I believe it’s the message that it’s sending out to men that has such a negative effect on them. In fact, a friend of mine once told me that her boyfriend once didn’t want to do something, in a sexual situation, because “Young Thug said it wasn’t cool.” She was shocked when she heard this, as was I.
According to a study in 2003, researches found that young people who listen to rap music are twice as likely to have multiple sex partners, 2.5 times as likely to get arrested, and 1.5 times as likely to use drugs and drink alcohol.Â
What I believe personally is that these songs that we listen to every day are sending the completely wrong message. It’s overly explicit with curse words and inappropriate scenarios. I believe this is teaching the youth (especially boys) that the behavior they hear about in their favorite songs is praised upon and deemed ok to do. The drug use that is overly talked about in these songs and the fact that it’s cool to cheat on your significant other. It’s causing violence and the normality of guns. White people assume saying the n-word is a casual thing when in fact it is not. Again, I’m not saying this has an effect on all men, but I do think it is a great contributor to most of their actions.Â
Most couples that I’ve seen with the strongest connection usually share the same music taste. Music shows what you value. In fact, a study by the University of Glasgow and the Scottish Music and Health Network states that the music we listen to in our teen years carries with us throughout our lifetime. Music brings people together.
Sometimes you can even tell what kind of music one listens to by their look. People who listen to indie music or country music can be distinguished by their look or the way they talk even. Music really does define the type of person we are. Whether it’s our aesthetic, our slang, what our bedroom looks like, who our role models are, the biggest celebrities today are usually musicians. For example, Billie Elish, Tyler, The Creator, Lizzo, A$AP Rocky, etc. these being people tons of youths look up to.
If we don’t pay attention to what we listen to, we are going to be indirectly brainwashed into the ideas that specific artists are portraying, usually negative ideas. It’s important to follow your heart when listening to music. Go out and discover new music you never thought you would listen to because the more you listen to, the more you may be inspired or the more open-minded you may become.Â