Do rap artists include violent messages in their music?

Answer 1

Yes and no. While critics of rap like to say it's all violent and negative, that is false, and an unfair generalization. Yes, there are some rap songs that promote "thug life" or talk about gangs; there are rap songs with homophobic lyrics or that seem to encourage sexism. But there are also rap songs about love, respect, positive relationships, finding solutions to poverty and racism, etc. A look on the Billboard charts will show a wide variety of lyrics. It should also be noted that rap (like every other genre) is a form of literature. Singers who sing about violence are often adopting a fictional persona, rather than advocating in favor of violent behavior; in other words, not every author who writes a short story about gangs has been a member, nor is every song-writer who writes a rap song about gangs suggesting the audience ought to join one.