Rappers are the rudest, new lyrics study shows

If cleaniless is next to godliness then hip-hop music is in hell.

According to a new study by the lyrics website Musixmatch, hip-hop is the most profane genre of music, followed by heavy metal.

The website analysed lyrics from eight genres including pop, hip-hop, indie rock, folk, heavy metal, country and electronic. The most googled artists were selected and only the lyrics of their studio albums were analysed.

Of the 361 artists that were studied, it should come as no surprise that rappers reigned supreme as the worst potty-mouthed artists.

American rapper Lil Wayne has the highest count of swearwords in his lyrics, followed closely by Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes and TI. Wayne has used 3960 profane words in his 12 albums.

The study also found that for every 31 words in his songs, Lil Wayne used one profanity. Tupac came in second with 3742 profane words, and Snoop Dogg in third with 3535 words. Rapper Chief Keef also ranked highly on the profanity list.

He uses swear words more frequently than his fellow hip-hop artists but ranks lower because he has fewer albums.

But heavy metal bands Korn and Slipknot also have profane lyrical content, giving the genre its second place accolade on the profanity scale.

Folk and Country artists are the least profane, with “ass” being the most commonly used profanity.

Thando Makhunga, 94.7 music manager, said that this was similar for the local market which “dramatically impacts the quality of the radio version”.

Makhunga added: “Commercially successful local hip hop artists generally don’t use profanity (in vernacular languages or English) as frequently on their hit singles as their international counterparts do.

“Local house, rock and pop artists might have the odd swear word here and there but it is the exception rather than the rule.”