Linguistic analysis of rap music tracks as a popular culture element

The quote "Music is nutritious for the soul" expresses the importance of music for people. Despite these words meaning music nourishes the soul, it should not be forgotten that not everything we consume can be healthy. People listen to music in many situations, such as for having fun when they are happy or for cheering up when they are sad. However, what people listen to is as important as why. One the most listened to music genres today is rap music. This type of music contains negative elements such as slang and curse words in its lyrics. In addition, neologisms and grammatical errors that distort the language are encountered in rap music. Despite this, it is known that this genre, which has a poetic structure, also includes figures of speech. In addition, rap music today is considered negative due to inclusion of themes such as drug use, sexism and violence. In this study, the most listened rap music songs in Turkey and Russia were examined from a linguistic perspective. In the light of the findings, it has been determined that the negative elements mentioned in the language of rap music, one of the most listened to genres in the society, are not always present. The fact that these elements were found in very small numbers, especially in the most listened to songs, led to the conclusion that the society does not favor songs that use negative language.