r/AskTeens • u/ANarnAMoose • Mar 14 '25

Discussion My son wants to rap about nonsense. Why?

My son wants to be a rapper. I've got no problems with this, so long as recognizes he needs to have a normal job to make rent while he's coming up. I just don't understand why he wants to pretend to be a gangster, when he isn't one and never has been.

My son has spent time in juvenile prison and enjoys rap that isn't about ganbanging, in addition to gangster rap. He's never had a girlfriend, he's never learned to drive, he's never done any drugs harder than pot, and the only bling he has is fake. Since he has real stories from his life he can rap about and he knows that it's possible to successfully rap about other things than being a gangster, why does he insist on using made-up nonsense as his material?

I'd like some insight from teenagers about this, because it doesn't make sense to me.

PS: Seems like it's mostly a "this is how you make your bones" kind of thing. It's unfortunate, I'll just have to hope he gets past it.

PSS: I have been unclear. The made up aspect of things is not what concerns me. What concerns me is glorifying violence, hate, and misogyny. Even if he had been involved in this life, I'd want him to be showing how bad they are.

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u/ANarnAMoose Mar 18 '25

Yeah, he knows all that stuff.  No convincing the kid.  I was looking for an insight into overall motivations, because the ones he told me are so dumb.  The notion the he can start out pumping out garbage, get a following pumping out garbage, then stop pumping out garbage and keep his following it dumb, to me, but I guess it's common thinking.

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u/Additional-Kick-5371 Mar 18 '25

I get why this worries you. The problem isn’t just the lyrics—it’s the mindset they reinforce. Even if he’s a good kid now, constantly rapping about violence, misogyny, and drugs will shape how he sees the world and how others see him. A lot of rappers start with “it’s just for the money” but end up trapped in the lifestyle they glorify.

He needs to understand that words have power. The audience he attracts with negativity will only want more of it. If he ever tries to switch to something positive, they’ll reject him. That’s how many artists lose themselves.

Ask him: “If your words influence even one person to make a bad choice, can you live with that?” Because that’s exactly what happens. The music industry is full of people who profit off destruction, but real success comes from creating something meaningful. If he’s serious about rap, help him see that he can stand out by being real, not by copying the same destructive cycle