Rap Music and Violence

An Arizona man recently stabbed his wife and two young children in the middle of the night, killing his wife and daughter. This event is incredibly shocking and saddening, but it has attracted even more attention nationally because it seems like Eminem is involved:

[Michael] Miller told detectives he was possessed and he visualized his wife, Adreana Miller, as a demon. Just before stabbing her at 4 a.m., he told police he started screaming lyrics from an Eminem song, saying, "Here comes Satan, I'm the anti-Christ, I'm going to kill you."

These lyrics are misrepresented -- the actual lyrics (from "Underground" off Em's 2009 album, Relapse) don't say anything about killing -- but it reopens the debate about whether violent rap music causes crime. In this case it doesn't seem like Eminem's lyrics were a significant cause of violence; more likely, Miller was primarily influenced by his demonic visions.

Still, it's interesting because Eminem, himself, weighed in on the subject back in 2002, in the song "Sing For The Moment" from his excellent album, The Eminem Show:

They say music can alter moods and talk to you
Well can it load a gun up for you, and cock it too?
Well if it can, then the next time you assault a dude
Just tell the judge it was my fault, and I’ll get sued.

It'll be interesting to see where this goes. Listening to music lyrics is never an appropriate defense for a crime, and it's hard to blame the artist when fans take the music a step too far.