This question is in response to my answer at What Does the Bible Say About Listening to Music About Sin? Okay. What about the people making the music? Are they sinning by making such music if they do not do the things they say in their music? Ex: Rap artist Eminem (Marshall Mathers) said in his song "Criminal" that there is a lot of stuff in his songs that he says but does not do. Is this a sin? He also said in another song that he cannot know if someone will do what he says in his songs. Are rappers and other artists really to blame when children "follow their example", or does the blame fall on the parents for not watching their child(ren)?
Answer
Can I gather a group of followers, preach the violent overthrow of the government, and then when my followers blow up a government building claim that I had nothing to do with it because I didn't set the bomb? Can I say, "God is dead," to one group of people and preach Christ to another? James had something to say about such a person. "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." (James 3:10-12) Jesus said, "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." (Matthew 12:30)
It is not enough to preach and not practice. One can't fire a weapon and then say, "I didn't know it would hurt someone." Parents do share some of the blame, but people who promote violence in music or action to a known, vulnerable audience share the blame as well. One can not assume a "gangsta" image and then claim, like Charles Barkley, "I am not a role model." We are all role models, whether we like it or not. We are all responsible for the role we model, whether we like it or not.