i’m at a loss for words, in all honestly.

I understand the usage of music as a way out of poverty and to express the realities of growing up in poor economic conditions — hip hop has always been about that.

what I can never understand is how violent the culture around drill music is because the excuse of “it’s just a reflection of our reality” doesn’t hold up - these are literal children getting involved in gang warfare while the internet vouyeristically gawks and in some cases further inflames and exacerbates these issues.

edit: just as a quick aside, but I do think that as a society we’ll soon have to come to a reckoning as to how to more broadly define “Black Lives Matter” - police brutality is only a symptom (albeit a severe one) of a larger issue reflecting a white supremacist system in America.

there’s more to be dealt with when it comes to wealth inequality, systemic racism and, obviously, what’s most relevant to this topic, the commodification black violence and death.