This is particularly concerning for ethnic minority groups who are disproportionately at risk for poorer mental health outcomes (e.g., lack of early access to services, cultural stigma of mental health care, racism etc.). For example, a recent research study found that heightened emotionality was predictive of increased belief in fake news. įurthermore, the spread of misinformation might be particularly impactful on people with mental health problems. This example also raises concerns about cultural cognition, which refers to “…the tendency of individuals to conform their beliefs about disputed matters of fact to values that define their cultural identities”. Therefore, artists must be careful when delivering public health statements as fans might identify rappers as seemingly credible sources of information. This occurrence also exemplifies the concept of ‘epistemic trespassing’ whereby “…non-experts move into an expert’s field, reject their judgements, and supplant the expert’s perspective with their own”. Secondly, stating that the virus is ‘fake’ is also very concerning in light of research showing that false news spreads more pervasively than true news (i.e., false news diffuses significantly farther, faster, deeper, and more broadly). For example, Black people in the UK are approximately four times more likely to have died of COVID-19 according to the Office of National Statistics. Firstly, such falsehoods as “…minorities can’t catch it” are potentially very harmful as there is a growing evidence-base indicating that BAME, African American, and African Caribbean communities are disproportionately at risk of COVID-19 infection and mortality. While some artists have articulated the seriousness of the pandemic through their own experiences, there are examples where other artists have used their platform to disseminate inaccurate and potentially harmful misinformation, which can undermine public health responses, and could potentially fuel conspiracy theories, add uncertainty, denial etc.Īn example of the spread of misinformation within the hip-hop community was illustrated during a radio interview with a well-known USA-based rapper who was asked whether he was concerned about being affected by the virus, to which his response was that the coronavirus was “fake” and that “…minorities can’t catch it”. Kidney function, liver function, lung function, heart function – you can actually die from the Covid, it’s crazy. For example, he states: “It’s serious, you could be going on with your life and then that very next moment you could lose everything. ![]() From the perspective of recovery, a prominent USA-based rapper named Scarface who was hospitalized with COVID-19 shared messages with the hip-hop community about his experiences on how severe the virus really is and how his recovery had been challenging (e.g., on a dialysis machine). Furthermore, after losing relatives to COVID-19, the UK-based artist, Drill Minister, was inspired to write a song called ‘Ode to the NHS’, which he described was dedicated to all of the staff caring for sick people. Fans and artists alike shared an outpouring of support on social media for both rappers. Some tragic examples of pandemic-related deaths have included Fred The Godson, a USA-based rapper in his 30s, who passed away due to COVID-19-related complications as well as the UK-based, Mercury prize-nominated rapper, Ty who passed away from pneumonia after contracting COVID-19. Thirdly, we highlight some of the strategies that have been implemented for offering resources and support. Secondly, we explore some examples of inaccurate information that has been disseminated about COVID-19 within the community. Firstly, we provide examples of how hip-hop artists and the community are dealing with COVID-19-related deaths and experiences of illness. In this commentary, we explore several themes that have emerged within the hip-hop community that are relevant to public health during the pandemic. Messages contained within hip-hop lyrics can play an influential role on how people perceive the world around them. Five decades later, hip-hop culture is now a multi-billion-dollar industry with a global omnipresence that crosses boundaries of language, geography, ethnicity, age, gender, and socioeconomic status. ![]() These elements created different mediums for self-expression about hardships and fostering resilience within deprived communities. As this cultural movement evolved, many people within the hip-hop community expressed their artistry in different ways through what are known as the five elements of hip-hop: emceeing (i.e., lyrical expression/rapping), graffiti, deejaying, breakdancing, and knowledge. Hip-hop emerged in the early-to-mid 1970s in some of the poorest areas of New York City (NYC), U.S.A.
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