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Rap Music and Violence The issue of whether rap music contributes to violent crime is a continual debate here in America. In this essay I will look at two articles and analyze them to find which argument I believe in. Dennis R. Martin, president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, theorizes that since “music has the power both to ‘sooth the ravage beast’ and to stir violent emotions,” then rising racial tensions and violence can be attributed to rock music’s promotion of “vile, deviant, and sociopathic behaviors. Criminologist Mark S. Hamm and Jeff Ferrell reject Martin’s analysis of the relationship between music and violence, charging that theory is based on racism and ignorance of both music and cultural forces (Monk p18). In Martin’s article, “Music of Murder,” he stresses that music containing violent images through words is the misuse of the first amendment and that it can influence the mind. Influencing the mind the same way that music can uplift the spirit or rage it. Martin believes that lyrical references strong enough can take over the subconscious causing people to act in ways they otherwise wouldn’t. Mark S. Hamm and Jeff Ferrell’s article, “Rap, Cops and Crime: Clari