By Roger Caldwell
The new hip hop generation has decided that living is not part of the game, so many have decided to live for the day. The rappers are the stars of today, and everyone is in the studio making the next million dollar hit. In the studio everyone has changed their name to sugar cane and baby b, and now you are hip.
From the very inception of hip hop, there was always something violent and destructive about this art form. No one likes to talk about drugs, sex, guns and crime, but somewhere underneath all the glitz and glamour, there was always violence and death.
Rapping has always been a gift in the Black community for the last fifty years, and now it is international. In the early days of hip-hop, there was always a consistent theme of “hood politics.” The biggest names maintained a gangster persona: the Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Tupac Shakur, Ice Cube, and many were drug dealers and criminals.
According to Wikipedia, the studies indicate that murder was the major cause of death for hip-hop stars. The average age of death between these performers was 25-30 years of age. Hip hop artists have a higher rate of homicide than artists of any other genre of music, ranging from five to 32 times higher.
Rap started in New York in 1970 by reciting poetry over prerecording instrumental tracks, and now it is an international billion dollar entertainment industry. The rappers wrote about violence, crime, and living in poverty, and projected themselves as thugs. As the art form evolved, the rappers started talking about everything, and rappers like Drake stopped thinking of themselves as a thug.
In 2004, Kanye West put out his first album, “The College Dropout” which addressed religion, and he wanted to say something significant. As more rappers got away from gangster hip-hop, the artists rapped about life, and what was important to them.
Even though there are rappers selling out arenas and making millions, there are still more at the bottom. At the bottom, many are called “studio rats”, with no place to live and very little to eat.
Hip hop has always been associated with the drug culture, and the rappers glorified the use. From Dr. Dre’s glorification of marijuana on The Chronic, to southern rappers introducing purple drank, there has been an abuse of drugs. Many of the rappers would want our community to think it was fantasy, but many are overdosing every day.
There are far too many to count who are addicted to hard drugs, cocaine, opiates, popping pills and drinking codeine. When Juice WRLD is one of the latest rappers to die from a reported drug overdose, he is not alone.
When many of the hip hop super stars can ride in their private jets, they also can buy whatever drug they want. Rappers are dying too early, and many are mentally sick with an addiction to drugs.
Orlando rapper Keith Melvin Moses was also known by his rapper name Killaa K. Before he went on a killing spree, he also had overdosed on drugs and he was mumbling and was not mentally well. Drugs are destroying our families, and we need intervention and mental health to save this generation.
Why are hip hop artist dying so soon and so early—-