The authors...say they hope to explicate "gun culture," which they never define, while also absolving hip-hop, in which many lyrics glorify guns and gun violence, of responsibility for gun violence.Which means this is just total drek from the get-go, seeing as how to explicate means to detail and analyze. Maybe they meant "implicate"?
Regardless, here's a little real world test we can apply:
What percentage of drive-by's, gangland shootings, armed robberies, etc. were committed last month by people who identify themsleves with the gangsta rap culture, whether it's going to the clubs, buying the music, etc. Now how many similar incidents have been committed in the past century by those who identify themselves as NRA, GOA and JPFO members, and just to be fair, we'll include smaller regional groups like VCDL, RMGO, etc.?
Does this mean I'm blaming (c)rap music? Not at all, although I do believe the more misogynistic, racist and thug variants of the genre provide a pretty good character indicator for people I don't particularly want to be around.