In defense of hip-hop | Roland Fryer

Hip-hop's influence and impact on society are examined through the lens of economics and data analysis. Despite criticisms of misogyny, violence, and profanity in hip-hop lyrics, data reveals no evidence of negative effects on social and economic outcomes such as teen pregnancy, unemployment, income, and crime; if anything, exposure to hip-hop correlates with slight improvements. This challenges the notion that hip-hop causes inequality, suggesting instead that inequality shapes hip-hop. The analysis included grading hundreds of thousands of songs for misogyny, violence, profanity, and drug references using AI, even singling out Masterpiece's "Bout That" as the most extreme, based on these metrics.