Decriminalising Rap Beat by Beat: Two Questions in Search of Answers

Lambros Fatsis

Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceeding with ISSN or ISBNChapterpeer-review

Abstract

Rap music is frequently summoned to stand trial for glorifying violence, glamourising outlaw lifestyles and causing ‘crime’. Perceived as dangerous, rap is pursued and processed as such by the police, prosecutors and judges without interrogating the prejudicial assumptions that lead to its discriminatory suppression. Taking up two recurring questions in debates on rap — ‘isn’t it violent’? , ‘isn’t it misogynistic’? — this chapter challenges stereotypical associations between rap music and ‘criminality’, reintroducing it instead as music to be appreciated against, beyond and outside law enforcement narratives that criminalise rap, while normalising violence in other aspects of cultural and socio-political life.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMusic in Crime, Resistance and Identity
EditorsEleanor Peters
PublisherRoutledge
Chapter6
ISBN (Print)9781032030470
Publication statusPublished - 10 Feb 2023

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