Lyrics of Dissident Youth Cultures and Police Misconduct in the United States

Abstract

In this paper, I analyze US rap and punk rock lyrics in regard of criticism against the police and compare the accusations made to real life data of police misconduct over the last decades. I sort these findings in five categories: racism, corruption, violence, deadly violence, and sexual violence. I find that these accusations are reliable and often do not even reach the actual levels of excess and viciousness police misconduct can reach. The accusations made by dissident youth musicians are not useful to solve singular cases of police violence but they bear witness to a bigger systemic issue. This study paves the way for research and social justice activism to take a deeper look into the accusations made by musicians on a bigger scale.