Popular music today is meaningless and trashy.

How far do
you agree with this statement?
All I want for my birthday is a big booty hoe!
Walk into the kitchen, yams everywhere.
With lyrics like these flooding the airwaves, it is not surprising that
the older generation often derides popular music today as
meaningless noise and just rubbish. While some popular music
nowadays are indeed superfluous and contain questionable content,
they definitely do not represent the whole of popular music.
To say that all such music is meaningless created by profit-driven,
talentless musicians is unfair because it discredits the effort,
talent and messages of other more credible artistes.
There is a certain truth when critics, especially the older generation,
claim that popular music nowadays is nothing but meaningless
noise. Very often, we hear music on the radio with lyrics that make
us cringe or simply fails make sense.
Take for example Birthday Song by 2 Chainz She got a big booty
so I call her big booty or the cringeworthily titled, Sexy Bitch by
Akon Im trying to find the words to describe this girl without
being disrespectful Damn, shes a sexy bitch Such songs are not
only distastely, but they also insults the intelligence of listeners with
obvious and illogical lyrics.
Additionally, many popular songs today are also about sex, drugs,
money and violence. These songs are often produced with the aim
of titillating and grabbing the attention of listeners, thereby
generating profits. Furthermore, many artistes and record
companies also employ ghostwriters, behind-the-scenes
songwriters to help them write the lyrics of their music. As a result,
it is not difficult to see why some have criticized the popular music
industry as meaningless, talentless and profit-driven. However,
this is only one aspect of popular music today there still are many
talented artistes out there who produce meaningful and insightful
music.
First and foremost, popular music today can be creative, insightful
and even thought provoking. Such music often involves the artiste
exploring certain themes and ideas in society and entails intense
reflection and introspection. Through insightful observations and
provocative claims, the artiste also encourages the listener to
become intellectually involved by examining his own beliefs and
opinions on the matters discussed.
An example would be Kanye Wests No Church in the Wild with the
lyrics:
Human beings in a mob. Whats a mob to a king? Whats a king to
a God? Whats a God to a non-believer?

In this verse, Kanye explores the concept that power is derived from
belief through a subversion and distortion of the Great Chain of
Being. He implicitly suggests that oppressive political and religious
systems can continue to thrive only because people choose to
continue believing in them. The lyrics, in the form of successive
questions, also prompt listeners to think and arrive at the conclusion
themselves. In view of the insightfulness of these songs, it would be
a gross injustice to call such forms of music meaningless and their
creators talentless.
Popular music today can also serve to soothe emotional wounds for
both the artiste and their fans. For the artiste, the process of writing
lyrics that reflect genuine and profound emotions can often be a
cathartic process where the artiste is able to come to terms with
emotionally traumatic events. Similarly for the listeners, by
immersing oneself in richness of emotion and experience
represented in music, one can learn to better empathise with the full
spectrum of human emotion and experience. Individuals can also
gain a shared sense of connectedness and solidarity from music by
learning that others too have experienced certain painful emotions
heartbreak, confusion, identity, lost of loved ones, individuals feel
less lonely and less isolated in their troubles.
An example would be Frank Oceans Bad Religion a song that
compares unrequited love with religion. The song deals with the
loneliness and isolation of unrequited love, much like how a follower
of God never truly knows if the relationship is reciprocated. Although
profit can never be fully factored out of the equation, given that
singing is still their source of livelihood, it can be said that the
communication of emotions and healing of wounds is an more
important aspect for these artistes.
Popular music today can also be used a medium for championing
worthy causes and creating change. Because of the large audiences
that they can reach, many popular artistes have made use of their
music to spread awareness about worthy causes like world hunger
and world peace. Others have also used music to reflect and bring
attention to certain social issues such as racial inequality and
gender discrimination.
For example, Tupac Shakurs Keep Ya Head Up calls for the
community to develop a greater respect for women given their
constant sacrifice and integral role in society.
Hence, it is hardly fair to say that songs like these are meaningless.
Although trashy, superfluous songs continue to flood the airwaves
because of their ability to attract and titillate listeners, it would be
unfair to discredit the rest of the purposeful, insightful and creative
music because of these black sheeps. While we may not be able
to prevent such songs from being produced, a better strategy would

be to better equip modern listeners with the media literacy and

ability to discern between the two.