Rock music is a better influence than rap music is. People everywhere say rock music is bad, but it’s not. Rap music is mainly consisted of drug or other substance use. Rock music has lyrics that have meaning behind them like finding a lost love or to never give in to peer pressure.

Rock has little to no lyrics about substance use while rap has tons. Tara Parker-Pope, author of “Under the Influence of...Music?”,(http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/under-the-influence-ofmusic/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0) says that since 2005 lyrics that involve drug or alcohol use in rap music has jumped 77 percent while rock music only 14 percent. Rappers such as Lil Wayne and Chris Brown put ideas such as drinking alcohol or smoking marijuana as something that’s ok and fun to do. Rock music on the other hand has only a 14 percent increase which is still low. Bands such as Of Mice and Men and The Relapse Symphony have no lyrics like that. Rap music has worse lyrics than rock music does.

Rap music has more explicit references in the songs than rock music does. In “Under the Influence of...Music?” (http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/under-the-influence-ofmusic/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0) the average person hears about 30,732 explicit references a year. Teenagers who listen to rap are exposed to 251 references a day. Rock music exposes zero to five references a day in the music. Rock music has less explicit references than rap music does in a day.

Most of the songs came from the Billboard magazine. Out of all 279 songs found and studied the highest genre that has influenced many teens is rap. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that the 77 percent of rap music is broken into different parts. About 3 percent portray tobacco use, 14 percent spoke of marijuana use, 24 percent showed alcohol use, and the last 4 percent had “anti” drug and alcohol messages. Rap has more hidden substance use messages in the music than rock or any other genre.

Rock versus rap music.Through studies it has been proven that rock music would be a better influence on teenagers than rap music. Rock music is a better influence than rap music. Rock music has less of a chance of influencing teenagers to do drugs or alcohol. Rock music also has less references mentioned in a day than rap. And lastly rock music influences teenagers in way that lets them be themselves without having to follow a trend.