Ryan crime report: Soca music breeding criminals
Trinidad Guardian
Soca, dancehall and hip-hop music are said to be influencing youths into criminal behaviour. This is according to a report by the Ryan Committee on Youth at Risk. The report was laid in Parliament by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Friday. The committee’s report said while it was impossible to draw a definitive correlation between violence or explicitness of lyrics and the level of criminality among youth, the lyrics of 2012 soca hits “tend to support the idea of a contemporary youth culture that is very consistent with the rebellious behaviour of previous generations of youth.”
It added “There is little doubt that American (hip-hop) and dancehall music have been having their impact on Trinidad’s young black males.” The report said a survey of 50 students in two schools revealed that 81 per cent of the students preferred dancehall and hip-hop music. The author of the survey, Marc Jackman, believes the statistics “confirm the powerful effects of dancehall and hip hop music on perceptions of sexuality and an association of violent behaviour in Trinidad.” The 436-page report said there was a need to examine the relationship between the current musical culture of youth and its relationship to violence and criminality. It also pointed out that the alcohol or rum themes in chutney songs in the past decade had “been seen as responsible for the perpetuation of crime in the society, more so, domestic violence in the Indian home and community.”
download the entire report
Replies
the truth often or not offends