Meek Mill Gets Real

It is very uncommon to hear positive sexual health messages within the rap and hip hop music genres, let alone all other forms entertainment. As Collins points out, "sex is largely portrayed ... as a casual activity, without health or other life consequences. The vast majority of scenes [or lyrics] with sexual content fail to depict the responsibilities concomitant with sexual activity" (Collins et al., 2003, pg. 1115). Collins et al. have found that placing pieces of information about sex and sexual health within pop culture is a way to get the information across to a wide audience and in a way that is unthreatening and likely more helpful than formal education.

This is why - while being forced to listen to rap music by my boyfriend - I got overly excited to hear an important message about sexual health from rapper Meek Mill in his song "B Boy". While most of the song is made up of misogynistic messages about women's bodies, drinking and drugs, there is one ray of hope.

"Yeah and she tryna fuck me raw, unprotect,
But if I don't have that rubber on it I feel under dressed."

THIS IS AMAZING. I am so excited that Meek Mill and his peers and producers all decided that this was a message worth putting into his song. Young men and women will hear these lyrics and will associate using condoms with being cool like Meek Mill. Setting precedents like this within media is such an important step in making information about sexual health not only available to people that may not otherwise come across it, but also something cool and that should be done. Collins et al. agree that  entertainment "can teach the risks and responsibilities that accompany sexual activity in a way  that books, pamphlets, and classroom instruction cannot" (Collins et al, 2003, pg. 1119). Meek Mill is reaching listeners who generally have less access to sexual health information - black adolescents - where they are, and is teaching them an important lesson about how they should be approaching their sexual activity.

How do adolescents learn that not using a condom is a) an option and b) a better feeling than using a condom? From lyrics in rap songs, from sex scenes in television in movies. Combatting that risky information with something worth while and educational for adolescents is amazing and I love Meek Mill now.

Collins, R., Elliott, M., Berry, S., Kanouse, D., & Hunter, S. (2003). Entertainment television as a healthy sex educator: The impact of condom-efficacy information in an episode of Friends. Pediatrics, 112(5), 1115-1121.