Another great guestpost from Alex MacDonald:

Dreda Mitchell, the writer, broadcaster and teacher claimed in a BBC News television debate that she uses rap music to “teach children a variety of literary devices”. The controversial debate focused on a shift in recent culture and featured historian, David Starkey and the author of ‘Chavs’, Owen Jones.

During the debate, Starkey claimed that British culture had totally transformed, “chavs have become black, whites have become black, and gangster culture has become the fashion.” These words caused widespread online debate, and provoked comments from Labour leader, Ed Miliband, who described Starkey’s argument as “disgusting & outrageous”. Starkey claimed that Black culture, including rap music, “glorifies” the rioting that the world witnessed in the UK recently.

But were the comments actually outrageous?

I had a very brief opportunity to interview Dreda Mitchell after her appearance on the BBC; I asked her what her thoughts were regarding rap music.

Alex: ‘are the lyrics “move bitch get out the way hoe” considered to be a positive literary device for children?

Dreda: “I use well chosen socially conscious rap lyrics and they work really well especially with re-engaging boys.”

Alex: “Ok, well would you agree that some rap lyrics are harmful? Do these not affect the kids just as much as the productive lyrics you promote?”

Dreda: “I use Nas’ song ‘I Know I Can’ which is great to use to teach the literary device of theme in writing.”

Whilst I did not receive a direct answer to my second question, I did feel that any response would have been controversial. When we analyse rap, we can see that it does not have the cleanest record for being clean. However, rap music is essentially urban poetry (rhythm and poetry), and urban poets for the most part are known to perform about their lives and experiences. Would that therefore not make rap an excellent annotation of society and culture?

My initial thoughts from this conversation were that if lyrics need to be “well chosen” then clearly there are lyrics that need to be filtered out. These censored lyrics are usually condescending, derogatory and chauvinistic: a fitting example would be “move bitch”. If rap lyrics need to be so carefully selected, then clearly there is a lyrical problem with most rap songs. Or are the public just a bit prude when it comes to black music?

I have a keen ear for rap. It is one of my favourite genres of music, however, I have learnt to take the lyrics with a pinch of salt. As I am white and middle class it can be said that I am not a traditional target for rap music, but we aren’t really traditional with music anymore. In the contemporary era, everyone from age 1 to 100, and people from all backgrounds technically could listen to rap. It is consistently on the radio and its lyrics and image are gradually becoming more and more acceptable to the wider public.

So is Starkey right? Is the combination of Black music becoming more accessible, separate cultures coming together, and the influence of rap “glorifying” rioting enough to shatter communities? Does listening to rap subconsciously make me participate in Black culture, and is Black culture violent and if so, does that make me violent? What of the message it promotes?

Does rap music glorify rebellion and promote destruction or does it simply reflect? How do we feel about rap towards women? Does rap music create the illusion of women as objects? What about music from the rock band KISS, did that not also? What about Hustler magazines and the Miss World competition, all in their own right they have a way of creating the object illusion.

Rap music doesn’t tell me to stand up and riot, at least no more than rock music and certainly not as much as punk music and heavy metal. And who says that black people do not listen to other genres of music apart from rap? It is quite possible that some black people do not like rap music. So what then? Whose culture do they belong to? Are they less likely, according to Starkey’s theory, to commit criminal offence?

Although rap, rock and other genres of music promote certain problematic issues, they are all problematic yet necessary together. They all promote an integrated culture, they promote heritage and diversity, yet they are enjoyed by all. It is true, modern rap is not the easiest thing in the world to defend especially with such lyrics as “move bitch”. But suggesting that one culture’s heritage is the reason for the chaos is nothing short of ‘Ludacris’.

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