Ivan Mote
January/19/2011
AP English Language
Mrs. Ray

On the 19th day of January, Ivan Mote challenges the claim that the vulgarity of music is should not cause conflict. Ivan believes that music being portray as only offensive and inappropriate is a false statement.

Why Should America Not Oppose Vulgar Music

The problem with vulgar music is that it is offensive. To those that are not subjected to this extreme syntax would only view it as disrespectful, derogatory, and degrading to moral values of society. Having vulgar music perceived as unwanted is a wrongful theory. The music is supposed to serve as a career and entertainment. Making so this music will be erased will end in catastrophic results. The elimination of music will leave the consumers without entertainment, and the elimination of the music will leave the artist without a career. These two options obviously would pose a bigger problem than vulgarity. Vulgar music is not simply a reflection of an artist. Entertainment artist come from multifarious background and the music is an outlet of their feelings. The vulgar lyrics are produced from stress of their commanding job, as all careers are. The lyrics are also repressed feelings from their childhood being released, which are never memories someone appreciates. Having to remember that your father was on crack, facing ignominy of some sort, or just complete abuse would be powerful enough to drive the artist to use the point where simple words cannot express their feelings. The artist turns to a more aggressive and intense choice of words so the anger, sadness, or regret can properly be released. The artist is not only doing the expressing for themselves, but for the consumers as well. Entertainment artists know that the same obstacles they had to face still exist. Artists are able to use this knowledge to their advantage for creating a song. By taking a trying time that every human has to deal, the artist can relate mutual feelings between there self and the audience to create a comforting feeling; letting everyone know that they are not alone. One psychologist, Adia”Dr.Dia” Winfrey, has taken this theory into consideration and now uses it to help emotionally troubled adolescences. In her book H.Y.P.E, she validates that taking a suggested lyric from a song to compare with the troubled youth enables them to open up about how they have been hurt and what they are feeling. Her project proves, though music can be sometimes be vulgar, it is a tool that benefits the future of America – children. Claiming that music is vulgar is not entirely incorrect, but thinking of it as something other than art is criminal. Music is a form of art, and art has been vulgar in the past and present as well. The European Renaissance was a period of pure expression through art. One important figure from this time is “David”, sculpted by Michelangelo. David was created without and clothes or covering, and yet it stands in Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence as a beautiful masterpiece. Therefore, concluding that vulgar music is wrong is concluding that the art itself is wrong as well.