Parents protest rap music played on Power 92 radio station - New York News | NYC Breaking News

Concerned parents protested in front of urban radio station Power 92 in Hammond, Indiana Thursday saying the music and the message in some rap songs is making some gang members pick up guns.

Most of the music played on Power 92 is hip-hop, but one group of parents say the lyrics are degrading to women and children.

"Music is a very powerful medium. If you hear love songs, it puts you in a certain mood, if you hear dance music, it puts you in a certain mood, and if you hear gangsta music or music that's derogatory to black people and talking about killing, it puts you in a certain mood as well,"says Bryan Bullock, one concerned parent.

Rap music started in the late 1970's, giving blacks and Latinos a way to express themselves. Back then, the music was more about growing up poor and in life in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

"We love hip hop," says Kawabena Paul Pratt. "We want people to continue to play hip hop, but we want people to play hip hop that's gonna uplift, that's gonna give our children, our youth, our people a message. Right now, we need positivity. We don't need anybody telling us to walk around and kill somebody because we don't like 'em."

Fast forward ten years and "gangsta" rap was being recorded in studios on the west coast by groups like NWA. Rap has always been controversial and some blame the increase on violence on these tunes.

"You start the song off talking about the girl wants to give me the pootang, I'm gonna let my crew bang, and my crew is as big as Wu-Tang," says Pratt. "So it's talking about sexually assaulting women and they play that on the radio."

These parent protestors say it's time to put an end to it because the say the negative music is making some say and do harmful things.

"If you keep hearing negative things, what are you going to do? You're going to act on negative things," another person says. "So, I think they should put out a more positive influence."

The group says if parents and teens stop downloading and buying the music a decrease in record sales could mean a major increase in responsibility.