[Jake]

American Idol causes me to go on murderous rampages.

Seriously.

[Neraphym]

What I meant with the Zoolander reference was just that. But again, its not a song alone, but a song and other things.

Total immersion in a culture like what we see in rap today (not what is was at its roots) is, I think, a definite cause of some of the highly immoral things people in that culture do. That is a dangerous, immoral, and universally harmful culture. The music is just one element of it, though. That is why I hate half of the rap songs out there, but there are some good ones I enjoy.

[©allum]

This blame on the "subculture of rap" is just scapegoating. The people who do shoot people and listen to rap music would still shoot people if they listened to synthpop.

While most genres of music will have a subculture attached to it, which for argument's sake, is a microcosm of society as a whole. In society there are a percentage of people who will be violent, commit crime etc. But these people would do this without any external influences.

Music is art, and as such it cannot be held responsible for any of society's faults.

[Aaron]

There were plenty of criminals before rap, and there will be plenty after.

I agree with Callum, you cannot blame music itself. I do believe that a person already unstable can be set off by music, but the artist or the collection of notes are not responsible for a person's actions.