In a world full of anti-censorship, liberation, and free will, the sky's the limit. Words of hate, bigotry, sexism, and racism grace today's airwaves with no questions asked. Eminem, a top rapper today, sings about killing gays, his mom, and his wife. Jay-Z rants about how many girls he's "bagged" in his hit single "Girls, girls, girls". It seems as though that today, there is no line to be crossed and free speech has no boundaries. It's legal to say whatever one wants to on a record, as long as there's a sticker stating that it has "explicit content/lyrics". With Hip Hop or rap music gaining popularity there days, it has become a target group to push the limits as other musical genres have done in the past. Back in the grunge era, Nirvana exploded on the scene with songs like "Rape me", and Marilyn Manson's band came out with their first album, which included stuff like "Rock N" Roll Nigger". In the late 60's, bands talked about drugs and sex, setting a controversial trend. In the rap videos of today, women are seen prancing around in absolutely nothing and are used as sexual objects, while the rap artist himself refers to them as his "bitches". With rap music breaking into mainstream pop culture, it is expected to push the limits of free speech. In the beginning of rap and Hip Hop there was no "bling bling", and they weren't striving to get "cash, money, and hoes". They were trying to get a message across. Rap artists have no culpability for the content of rap, and this is an evolved result of the white people's demand, the music industry's control, and because people are seeing only a certain group and letting them speak for the whole group.
Rap music has declined in its culpability and reputability because of the added need to appease white people. When rap music began, it was sang in the streets of New York. Jamaican immigrants passed on their traditional beats and introduced rhymes into the mix.