The Relationship Between Mainstream Radio Music, Vulgar Lyrics, and Race and the Impact on the Criminal Black Male Stereotype. Deangelo K
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Nova Southeastern University NSUWorks School of Criminal Justice Theses and Dissertations Abraham S. Fischler College of Education 1-1-2017 The Relationship between Mainstream Radio Music, Vulgar Lyrics, and Race and the Impact on the Criminal Black Male Stereotype. DeAngelo K. Brown This document is a product of extensive research conducted at the Nova Southeastern University . For more information on research and degree programs at the NSU , please click here. Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cahss_jhs_etd Part of the African American Studies Commons, Criminology Commons, Education Commons, and the Ethnic Studies Commons Share Feedback About This Item This Dissertation is brought to you by the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in School of Criminal Justice Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Nova Southeastern University Institute for the Study of Human Service, Health, and Justice The Relationship between Mainstream Radio Music, Vulgar Lyrics, and Race and the Impact on the Criminal Black Male Stereotype by DeAngelo K. Brown A Dissertation Presented to the Institute for the Study of Human Service, Health, and Justice of Nova Southeastern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Nova Southeastern University 2016 Approval Page This applied dissertation was submitted by, ___________________________________, under the direction of the persons listed below. It was submitted to Institute for Human Service, Health, and Justice and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education at Nova Southeastern University. Approved: _____________________________________________Date: _____________ Committee Chair’s Signature Approved: _____________________________________________Date: _____________ Committee Member’s Signature Approved: _____________________________________________Date: _____________ Committee Member’s Signature Approved: _____________________________________________Date: _____________ ii DEDICATION To Harper Davis, Sr., Teresa Kanga, and Ike Brown, Jr. Thank you for your life, love, and laughter. You are missed. iii ABSTRACT The Relationship between Mainstream Radio Music, Vulgar Lyrics, and Race and the Impact on the Criminal Black Male Stereotype The criminal Black male stereotype, cemented in early American literature, has been perpetuated in movies, TV shows, and now on mainstream radio. For this study, Billboard song lyrics were analyzed for three main themes—violence, misogyny, and drugs/alcohol. Billboard song rankings are based on digital download sales, radio airplay, and Internet streaming. The researcher found that the songs played on hip hop and rap genre radio stations contained lyrics that strongly correlated with the three themes. The researcher also examined whether a relationship existed between artist’s race and lyrics about violence, misogyny, and drugs/alcohol. Black artists comprised 48% of the artists studied; compared to White artists’ lyrics, Black artists’ lyrics contained the majority of instances of each theme. The Federal Communications Commission does not restrict vulgar lyrical content played on hip hop and rap radio stations. In addition, according to studies of media influence on the social perceptions of racial groups and history of the Black male’s role in entertainment, the mainstream radio industry selects Black artists whose lyrical themes show a prevalence of violence, misogyny, and drugs/alcohol. v Table of Contents DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 Background of the Problem .................................................................................... 1 Evolution of Rap and Obscenity ............................................................................. 3 Obscenity versus Art ............................................................................................... 4 Telecommunications Act of 1996 ........................................................................... 6 Problem Statement .................................................................................................. 7 Rationale and Purpose............................................................................................. 8 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................ 9 Dissertation Goal .................................................................................................. 10 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 10 Researcher’s Position ............................................................................................ 11 Barriers and Issues ................................................................................................ 11 Limitations and Delimitations ............................................................................... 12 Definitions of Terms ............................................................................................. 13 Summary ............................................................................................................... 14 vi CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................16 Violence in the Black Community ........................................................................ 16 Hip Hop Culture .................................................................................................... 22 Lyrics about Misogyny, Violence, and Drugs/Alcohol ........................................ 25 Media and Entertainment Influence ...................................................................... 29 Commercialism of Hip Hop .................................................................................. 31 Criminalizing the Black Male ............................................................................... 37 Summary ............................................................................................................... 39 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................41 Research Design.................................................................................................... 42 Participants ............................................................................................................ 43 Instruments ............................................................................................................ 45 Data Collection ..................................................................................................... 45 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 46 The Role of the Researcher ................................................................................... 48 Summary ............................................................................................................... 49 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS .................................................................................................50 Description of the Data ......................................................................................... 50 Vulgar Lyrics ........................................................................................................ 52 Pearson Correlation Coefficient ............................................................................ 56 Spearman Correlation Analysis ............................................................................ 58 Summary ............................................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS ...................................................61 vii Limitations ............................................................................................................ 61 Delimitations ......................................................................................................... 64 Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 66 Implications........................................................................................................... 68 Recommendations for Future Research ................................................................ 70 Summary ............................................................................................................... 74 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................77 APPENDIX A: Top 10 Radio Airplay Songs