Stay Out Loud is our monthly series featuring articles writen by teen, for teens. Got something you want to say? Email your submissions and story ideas to stayteen@thenc.org.
"Have a baby by me, baby, be a millionaire," 50 Cent croons on his new single, appropriately titled, "Baby by Me." Have your eyebrows risen at all? Most likely not. These days, American culture -- and the music it accompanies -- has become so sexually saturated that lyrical references to safe sex are considered more "out there" than any crass chorus.
But is 50 really to blame? After all, it's very difficult to try and change the rules of a multi-million dollar industry built on sex, drugs, and rock and roll. And when it comes to navigating a cultural sea with such dangerous topics, too often, adults tell teens to simply listen to edited versions of their favorite songs or forgo the offensive music entirely -- something often scoffed upon or ignored.
So what's a teen to do? On one hand, it's easy to hear the words of 50 Cent, Lil' Wayne, Nickleback, or Hinder as empty, superficial boasts that don't really tell us to have sex, abuse our partners, or take having a baby lightly. After all, making some of the statistics here at Stay Teen fit to an easy four beat meter is harder than it looks. You try making "eight out of ten first time teen sexual relationships last 6 months or less and a quarter are one-time occurrences" work with a Timbaland-produced beat.
But for all those that simply shrug off the references as "part of the music" and go on their merry way, there are bound to be those who consider this behavior justifiable. After all, T.I., Britney, and the like are idols to many, so it's only natural that there will be some emulation. For these individuals especially, but also for all teens as a whole, it's extra important to stay informed.
Know that most of the artists singing about their "baby mamas" and their copious one-night stands are not like most of us "normal people." Lil' Wayne and 50 Cent do not have to balance school, work, and friends, nor do they have to live like many teen parents and make difficult decisions on a day-to-day basis about whether or not they can afford daycare or diapers. They do not represent most teen parents, who make on average not much above minimum wage and who often forgo higher education and the career of their dreams to care for a child they're not ready to have.
As easy as it can be to get wrapped up in the thumping, exciting world of Pitbull and 3oh!3, as easy as it can be to let 50 Cent's offer of a million-dollar-parent position fascinate us, we as teens need to step back and look at the bigger picture. That's not us in the Porsche, driving off to the hotel for a nightcap. That's not us, sleeping with countless men and never getting hurt along the way. That's not us, and it can't afford to be us, if we want to keep our wallets, health, and minds intact.
I'm not saying that you have to cover your ears and sing "Happy Birthday" the next time "Hotel Room Service" comes on the radio. Feel free to listen to the music you love. Just make sure to distinguish between its decadent fantasy world and the very different world we live -- and sing -- in.