A Content Analysis of Mental Health Discourse in Popular Rap Music.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Rap artists are among the most recognizable celebrities in the US, serving as role models to an increasingly diverse audience of listeners. Through their lyrics, these artists have the potential to shape mental health discourse and reduce stigma.

Objective

To investigate the prevalence and nature of mental health themes in popular rap music amid a period of documented increases in mental health distress and suicide risk among young people in the US and young Black/African American male individuals in particular.

Design and setting

Lyric sheets from the 25 most popular rap songs in the US in 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018, totaling  125 songs, were analyzed by 2 trained coders from March 1 to April 15, 2019, for references to anxiety, depression, suicide,

SUBMITTER: Kresovich A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7921905 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature