Bombs & Beats: So Tamerlan Tsarnaev Were Motivated by Hip Hop?
The bombing that took place at the Boston Marathon on April, 15th, in Boston, MA was yet another tragedy in a sea of tragedies that’s been going on lately. This incident stood out to me because it brought the days of Columbine back. When the Columbine shooting happened, the media did a good job of painting Marilyn Manson as the unseen mastermind behind the shooting. His music somehow played a major role in Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s reign of terror on their school. Somehow the events of that day took a back seat as the music that “inspired” the act came to the forefront. And once again, the blame is being placed on the music instead of the man, and my question is: Why is it so hard to place blame where it’s due?
According to gossip news site TMZ, 26-year-old Boston suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev (who was killed in a shoot-out with Boston PD), has an email account registered with the (still under construction) website, Real-HipHop.com . TMZ writes…
“What’s interesting … hip hop lyrics are notoriously violent and often degrading to women. Tamerlan Tsarnaev has a boxing profile in which he says he doesn’t take his shirt off much because he doesn’t want women to get bad ideas, adding, ‘I’m very religious.’ This statement is significantly more conservative than the hip hop genre.”
What does one of the bombing suspects listening to rap music have to do with the part he played in this tragedy? Why that’s even mentioned, is beyond me. I don’t recall listening to a single rap song and wanting to go out and blow some shit up. I don’t recall listening to any song and deciding that the lyrics were telling me to go do something violent. Lil Wayne raps about picking the world up and dropping it on someone’s head… is that supposed to be taken literally? When will people get held accountable for the actions they take? Why is music always the culprit for the crazies that still walk this earth?
Legitimate criticisms aside, for years Hip Hop has been used as the cause behind various acts of violence or getting backlash for even mentioning known violent acts. Controversial rapper Eminem challenged the idea of musicians and rappers having that much of a powerful influence over listeners, on 3 songs featured on his album The Marshall Mathers LP.
I guess that’s why they wore baseball caps when they planted those bombs in Boston, right?
In a 2000 interview, the rapper argued–, “Everyone is so touchy. As much sympathy as we give the Columbine shootings, nobody ever looked at it from the view of the kids who were bullied—I mean, they took their own life! And it was because they were pushed so far to the edge that they were so mad. I’ve been that mad!”
On the flip-side, so-called angry rap music like Public Enemy’s 1989 song “Fight the Power” is credited for bringing revolutionary hip hop to the forefront and lashing out against the injustices in the world; especially since so much has happened since the release of that song— the 1992 L.A. riots, the execution of Troy Davis, shooting of Oscar Grant by Oakland’s BART police, Trayvon Martin’s murder by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, and Rekia Boyd’s death at the hands of an off-duty Chicago police officer.
I’m hoping for the day when someone commits a violent act and they’re held accountable, and that their musical choice, bad life, lack of meds, or evil won’t be used as the sole excuses in conversations.
I’ve had this debate with several people over the past few days, and I’ve heard many views. “While it may seem like a cop out, music does play a big part in people’s everyday lives.” Some have argued. Or, “Maybe they were already on edge, and it was one song that made them feel invincible.” Others have said. So should we be expecting a law to pass, banning rap now? The last question scares me, simply because I feel like that’s where it’s headed. You don’t like something; keep finding reasons to ban it until something sticks. A school shooting, a bombing… third time’s a charm right?
Upset about hip hop possibly being blamed as a reason for the Boston bombings, T.I. recently spoke out -, “Hip hop narrates the activity and conditions of our culture, it doesn’t create them. Hip hop ain’t never been about hurting innocent people.”
For some reason, out of all the genres of music, Hip Hop is the most criticized. It isn’t perfect and definitely is problematic in some areas, but Hip hop is a genre that speaks of a certain culture, it tells a story. Country music, Classical music, Rock & Roll, Jazz and all of the other genres do the same thing. Carrie Underwood speaks of two women who killed a philandering man in Two Black Cadillacs…will she be blamed when a wife gets tired of her cheating husband and decides to join forces with the mistress, and do him in? Probably not, but it forces me to wonder: If a rap song came out with the same subject matter, would it be blamed?
This tragedy is just that, a tragedy. Take away the soundtrack, the snares, the drums, the hot beats, and you still have this horrible tragedy that impacted so many lives. The music isn’t on trial here, so let’s try not to put it on the stand.
