That’s a Rap: The Consequences of Racial Bias in Music Perception

Introduction

An individual’s perception of musical genres is consciously or unconsciously affected by racial bias. When someone listens to music, to what extent does that bias impact judgements by the listener to the musician, and the musician’s associated racial group? How can racial bias and race perception impact our concept of music? Can that bias, that is associated with the music, have downstream, real-world consequences for any negatively viewed racial group?

This literature review seeks to better understand how racial stereotypes associated with certain genres of music changes perception of that music. Specifically, it investigates how the perception of rap music could be affected by racial bias and in what ways that racial bias could be expressed. I hypothesized that implicit bias affects the dominant culture’s views and perceptions of rap and hip hop, a music genre and culture often associated with Black communities. I also investigated possible downstream effects of bias against rap and hip hop in the legal context, and the negative associations against legal defendants, particularly where rap music is introduced as evidence of guilt in criminal trials.

Background

What is rap and how closely is it associated with the Black community?

Although rap and hip hop are used synonymously by the public, the term “rap” refers to the musical style in which street vernacular, rhythmic or rhyming speech is chanted (“rapped”) to musical accompaniment. Hip Hop itself is an umbrella term for a broader cultural movement that includes rap, deejaying (DJ-ing), graffiti painting, and break dancing (Kubrin & Nielson, 2014). Hip Hop culture can also include a style of dress, wearing one’s pants low on the hips, dreadlocks, cornrow hairstyles and golden teeth (Dunbar, 2020). Rap is often referred to under the euphemism “urban contemporary music,” where “urban” typically refers to any form of music, art, or expression emanating from Black communities, and not necessarily a reference to metropolitan city origins (Diversity Style Guide, n.d.).

Rap music is intrinsically linked with the Black community, not only by its genesis but also by clearly marked preferences. In various studies, an overwhelming majority of Black participants preferred musical genres such as rap (Marshall & Naumann, 2007). Black adolescents reported listening to rap more than white adolescents (Marshall & Naumann, 2018), and Black people are more likely to be fans of rap as compared to white people (Marshall & Naumann, 2018). Additionally, Black people are more likely to prefer urban contemporary music, including rap, over other genres like country (Marshall & Naumann, 2007).

Rap’s close association with the Black community is not only because a large majority of rappers are African-American, but also because the genre includes African inspired elements, and tailors to a Black audience through its depiction of a myriad of Black experiences and narrative elements (Marshall & Naumann, 2018). Rap is often, but not exclusively, invested with lyrics decrying Black political consciousness and social ideology. It also may regale the audience with graphic tales of real life and the gritty reality of the Black experience. In the words of a social commentator, rap “insisted on making the family business public and telling the truth about personal weakness and failure while acknowledging big conflicts - of class, of sexuality, of gender, of generation - in Black America” (Dyson, 2019).

A subgenre of rap is “gangster rap”, which started as street reporting from the point of view of residents and neighbors of America’s urban warzones (Araibi, 2020). As the poster child of bad behavior in urban music, gangster rap features an unvarnished and brutal depiction of urban (i.e., Black) life. However, understanding rap conventions is critical to evaluating the genre. Gangster rap commonly employs poetic license or lyrics written for their shock value, rather than as historical narratives. It is important to distinguish between the rapper and the persona, the larger-than-life fictional characters exemplified in the music (Kubrin et al., 2024). Rappers construct marketable characters (Dunbar, 2018) and use violent language and graphic imagery in metaphors, not necessarily as first person accounts, but as hyperbole and boasting to reinforce an often fictitious outlaw status (Dunbar, 2018). Rap is basically by the people, for the people, and about the people.

What are examples of genres associated with “whiteness”?

Country music is a broad musical genre originating from white communities in the southern United States. In its infancy, it was the product of largely impoverished communities and comprised the banner rhythms of the economically disadvantaged (Britannica, 2024a). Country lyrics are considered representative of the American heartland.

In stark contrast to rap, the dominance of white artists in country music is nearly universal. Country music and its derivatives (including folk) are overwhelmingly associated with whiteness and studies report that white participants are more likely to prefer country music and folk to rap music (Marshall & Naumann, 2018). White middle class Americans have largely appropriated country music blended with elements of blues (another Black-founded genre), an amalgam that has created rock music. White participants in studies included more rock and country artists in their lists of preferred artists, but were less likely to include rap artists (Marshall & Naumann, 2007). Artists in white associated genres (country, folk and alternative) are more often listed by white participants than artists in Black associated genres (soul, rap, hip hop) (Marshall & Naumann, 2007). A Rolling Stone article of the top 100 country artists listed only one single African-American artist from the 1950s (Rolling Stone, n.d.).

Anecdotally, the dominance of white communities in country music is evident in numerous instances. For example the Dixie Chicks, a white country music group, were “booed” by conservative country fans for bringing Beyonce, an African-American performer, on the stage of a country music awards program (Newsweek, n.d.). Black country artist Shaboozey was accused of not understanding the “elemental aspects of country” and as “pedestrian” by one country industry music commentator, despite having the number one Billboard ranked country song as of this writing (Saving Country Music, n.d.).

Heavy-metal is similarly a genre of rock music that is largely dominated by white performers, musicians and listeners. Heavy metal is largely developed by mid-1960s British bands, and was further solidified as a genre in the 1970s by Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath (Britannica, 2024b). The heavy-metal culture is predominantly white, cis-gendered and male (Britannica, 2024b).

Rap vs. Country Music

While rap and country music often appeal to different audiences, both genres share similarities in their social themes, frequently highlighting the experiences of economically or socially marginalized communities. Both also have narrative themes regarding outlawry, violent crimes and injustice (Armstrong, 1993). Rap and country also feature narratives relating to working class struggles. Violent rap is viewed as working class resistance and a reflection of economic frustration. One commentator notes that country singers often identify as ‘rednecks,’ an allusion to their working-class roots and a rebellious, outlaw persona. Additionally, another commentator suggests that a unifying theme in both rap and country is the portrayal of violent crime." (Armstrong, 1993).

Even where country music addresses the same societal concerns and uses expressions with the same antagonism towards authority (i.e., the police), country music does not elicit the same negative associations in the perception of listeners. In one study by Reyna and colleagues (2009), folk lyrics featuring violence against law enforcement were presented to subjects without context of the genre or musicality of the song and participants were asked to identify the genre as rap, country, or folk. Not a single subject identified the lyrics as folk, but believed the lyrics were rap. Comparatively, subjects were also presented with lyrics from a rap song. Subjects found the lyrics to the folk song as more offensive than the rap lyrics and in greater need of government regulation and censorship. This emphasizes common perception of rap being more violent towards law enforcement than folk, despite lyrics that suggest otherwise.

Next, Reyna and colleagues (2009) delivered the folk lyrics to three separate groups, with each group receiving only the lyrics and information describing a different genre (rap, country, or folk). All three groups were asked to what extent they agreed with various statements about the lyrics. The first two statements measured the lyrics’s offensiveness; the second two statements sought to measure the lyrics’s perceived threat (Reyna et al., 2009). When the song was identified as rap, it was judged more negatively by the participants on all measures than when the song was identified as a country song or a folk song (Reyna et al., 2009).

A second experiment by Reyna and colleagues (2009) relating to the same lyrics sought to analyze the perception of lyrics as it related to the race of the perceived artist. Participants received a photograph of an African-American man or Caucasian man (Reyna et al., 2009). Both photographs were of equally attractive young men with sports coats and short hair cuts. When presented with the photograph of the supposed African-American artist, the subjects reacted by answering the questions more negatively compared to the white artist (Reyna et al., 2009). The authors posited that the identification of lyrics as rap or written by a Black artist can cause the perception of lyrics to be viewed as offensive and even dangerous (Reyna et al., 2009). The author was careful to mention that the study did not examine the “overall content of rap music or any other form of music” (Fried, 1993).

Another study illustrating the bias against rap artists presented participants various scenarios in order to discern any existing bias (Araibi, 2020). The control scenario provided participants with the biography of an African-American, male, high school student with an athletic scholarship, good grades and a side hustle as a musician (Araibi, 2020). The second scenario told participants that the same youth was on trial for the murder of his girlfriend, although he had pleaded innocent. In the third scenario, the participants were not advised of the murder charges, but only given rap lyrics authored by the student (Araibi, 2020). After being given one of these scenarios, participants were asked to rate the student on nine character traits: caring to uncaring; selfish to unselfish; gentle to rough; likable to unlikeable; conceited to modest; truthful to untruthful; sexually aggressive to non-aggressive; capable of murder to not-capable of murder and gang member to non-gang member (Araibi, 2020). The rap lyrics significantly influenced the results. Participants who received the rap lyrics were significantly more likely to attribute negative characteristics to the student. In contrast, when the participants only received information about the murder accusation, the judgements of the student were more positive (Araibi, 2020). The study further suggested that participants were more likely to believe the student capable of murder after reading his supposed rap lyrics (Araibi, 2020).

Rap vs. Heavy Metal

Further research highlights the profoundly dissimilar perception of rap versus heavy-metal. An examination of 118 opinion articles from major media publications targeting different socio-economic levels (e.g., New York Times, Time, Newsweek, Reader’s Digest) as compared to media targeting African-American readers (Ebony and Jet) analyzed the conversation around the perceived harmfulness of music lyrics (Binder, 1993). According to the study, rap music continues to be viewed as uniquely dangerous even compared to similar content in other genres (Dunbar, 2019). According to the analysis, even though heavy metal (created predominantly by non-Black musicians) and rap both reference violence and defiance of authority, rap was more likely characterized as the inspiration to commit crime by the media sources analyzed (Dunbar, 2019). In fact, rap was framed in the articles as a threat to society in two-thirds of the articles as compared to one-tenth of time for heavy metal music (Binder, 1993). The authors suggest the framing of the articles are not concerned with the negative effects of graphic music, but instead aiming to shift focus to the dangers that Black youths pose to society at large (Binder, 1993). The argument raised against other white music genres, specifically, heavy metal, is not that the listeners and/or creators are a menace to society, but that the music “will lead the individuals astray” (Fried, 2003). In other words, heavy metal music would lead individuals to be a danger to themselves, but not the community at large (Fried, 2003). More particularly, “[t]he public, well concerned that the heavy-metal fan may throw away a promising future, is unconcerned about the rap fan, except that he may pose a threat” to the society at large (Fried, 2003).

A further study about the perception of rap versus heavy metal music surveyed 50 community and college student participants from predominantly white communities (Fried, 2003). Participants were asked to list traits associated with rap fans or heavy metal fans, and whether they believed the traits or not. Rap fans were more likely to be listed as being a threat to others than heavy metal fans (Fried, 2003). Gangs were more often associated with rap music as compared to heavy metal fans. Anger was more commonly associated with rap fans than heavy metal fans (Fried, 2003).

In a study of survey results and school records of high school age rap fans and heavy-metal fans that compared the subjects on a number of problem behaviors (such as criminality and self-destruction) could identify race, but could not predict behavioral problems (Epstein et al., 1990). As expected, the rap fans studied were predominantly Black and the heavy-metal fans were white (Fried, 2003).

In summary, several studies have found that rap music listeners are often viewed less favorably compared to listeners of music genres associated with predominantly white communities, such as country and heavy metal. These studies consistently suggest that criminal behavior is presumed to be associated with rap listeners.

Consequences of the negative perception of rap and its creators and listeners

The negative perception of rap has transcended mere public opinion and observation and has infiltrated the legal system. As of 2020, the use of rap lyrics in criminal charges is “widespread” and has been provided as evidence in 500 legal proceedings (Araibi, 2020). In contrast, there is only one documented case where lyrics from genres other than rap have been presented as evidence in a similar manner (Araibi, 2020).

Even the intrinsic connection of rap with hip hop culture carries potential negative associations and consequences. A study of state trooper stops evidenced a greater number of individuals arrested who coded as being associated with “hip hop culture” than individuals who did not (Dabney et al., 2017). The study, where researchers rode along in police cruisers, found that 23% of individuals coding to hip hop culture (e.g., cornrow hairstyles, pants low on the hips) were arrested as compared to 8.7% of individuals arrested who did not (Dabney et al., 2017).

Courts admit rap lyrics to evidence as confessions, knowledge, motive, or intent, essentially the mens rea (or criminal mind), for sentencing enhancement purposes, as circumstantial evidence of the commission of a crime, direct evidence of having communicated a threat, among others (Dunbar, 2020; Lutes et al., 2019). Prosecutors have used lyrics to characterize rappers as criminal offenders who are writing about their “violent and illicit exploits” in the form of music lyrics (Dunbar, 2019). Unlike other genres, rap music is held up as an example of the capacity for violence and crime among the people who create it, specifically Black men from low income communities (Dunbar, 2019). Conversely, courts have failed to give equal consideration to rap lyrics submitted by defendants as exculpatory evidence or to mitigate liability (Lutes et al., 2019). Legal commentators argue that including musical lyrics into evidence threaten Constitutional guarantees of impartiality by introducing or amplifying racial bias (Araibi, 2020).

In one case, a 32-year old Black man was charged with the intent to distribute prescription pain medication based, partially, on the music video by his rap group where the defendant rapped about driving to Texas and buying prescription medications (Dunbar, 2018). The defendant claimed that the rap music was based on events he had witnessed and heard about but not committed (Dunbar, 2018). Even where the appellate court conceded that the rap lyrics may have had some biasing effect, the conviction was upheld (Dunbar, 2018). The case exemplifies the failure to understand the conventions of rap music, fictional accounts, braggadocio, hyperbolic boasts, exaggerating involvement in violence and crime to reinforce a fictitious outlaw status (Dunbar, 2018). As noted by commenters, a lack of understanding and cultural knowledge about rap and its conventions results in the inability to separate fact from fiction (Dunbar, 2018).

In a more egregious case, a rap video by a defendant in a shooting was introduced as evidence of his affiliation with a gang. Gang affiliation is used to obtain convictions, stricter sentences and even the death penalty (Kubrin et al., 2024). The video purportedly helped explain the rivalry between two gangs, which the defendant had allegedly joined (Kubrin et al., 2024). The defendant did not produce the video or write or perform the lyrics (Kubrin et al., 2024). The impact of the video on the trial judge was conclusive as the trial judge stated that he relied on it in reaching a conclusion regarding the defendant’s gang membership (Kubrin et al., 2024). Admission of the video should have been prejudicial error (Lutes et al., 2019) but represents the pervasive use of rap lyrics to prove gang membership, with one study finding that one in five gang cases used rap lyrics to help prove the gang affiliation of the defendant (Kubrin et al., 2024).

In contrast to the prevalent use of rap lyrics by the prosecution in criminal trials, a court determined that rap lyrics could not be presented as evidence to support the innocence of a criminal defendant (Lutes et al., 2019). A defendant sought to introduce evidence that he was acting in self-defense against a gang member whose rap videos contained references to firearms and violence (Lutes et al., 2019). The court reasoned that rap lyrics were “artistic expression” and not any “factual account of circumstances relevant to the judicial proceedings” (Lutes et al., 2019). The contrasting treatment of rap lyrics to condemn and not defend illustrates the double standard in the view of rap music lyrics.

Inexplicably, a rap video featuring the defendant with a rifle was used as evidence that the defendant must have had a weapon during a shooting, even though no such evidence was produced in court (Lutes et al., 2019). Prosecutors used a rap mixtape cover to connect rapper Tiny Doo to a series of unsolved shootings (Kubrin et al., 2024). The cover included a picture of a revolver, which prosecutors alleged that the shootings gained status for Tiny Doo’s alleged gang, which allowed him to sell more albums (Kubrin et al., 2024). He was incarcerated for seven months, after which his charges were dismissed (Kubrin et al., 2024).

Prosecutors have ignored the difference between author and narrator when using rap lyrics as evidence. They have even used lyrics as evidence of actual crime, when no physical evidence connecting a defendant is available. In one case, rapper Laz Tha Boy was indicted for his alleged role in a shooting, with rap music presented as evidence of criminal behavior and gang affiliation, even where his lyrics contained no specific information about the shooting (Kubrin et al., 2024).

Conclusion

Music is intrinsically linked with identity. It can also serve as an expression of culture and race. Rap, in particular, serves as the expression of the Black community’s struggle, oppression, and may provide an artistic outlet to feelings of outrage and disenfranchisement. Research finds that strong negative stereotypes about rap music and rap artists are prevalent. The strong association of rap with the Black community is inseparable and judgments of rap music and rap musicians may be influenced by pre-existing attitudes and stereotypes. Inactive or theoretical racial bias and prejudice against rap and rap artists can arguably exist without negative effects to society (without reference to the individuals holding such views). However, rap music and its devastatingly negative associations and harsh stereotypes is presented as fact, not fantasy; as evidence not fictional narrative, in criminal trials. This practice permits stereotypes to become character witnesses and lyrics to become confessions.