Rappers Quiet In The Wake Of Derrion Albert's Brutal Murder?
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I'm sure most of you guys have heard about Derrion Albert, the 16 year old kid who was savagely beaten to death during a gang altercation he had nothing to do with in Chicago. The entire incident was captured on a cell phone video and is widely available on the web, I tried to watch some of it but had to turn it off after 15-20 seconds because the contents are truly disgusting.
Rapper Nas wrote an open letter to Chicago youth shortly after the incident, this is a small piece:
Dear Young Warriors fighting the wrong war! I know that feeling, that frustration with life and needing to take it out on someone, any one.
"We chose the dumbest things to go the hardest for. I remember seeing deaths over 8 ball jackets, Fila sneakers, and name plate chains. Deaths over "he say, she say"!!!!! "I'm from this block or I'm from that block", or "my moms n pops is f*cked up now the whole world gotta pay"!!!
I remember feeling like I was the hardest "n*gga" breathing. And I couldn't wait to prove it. But let's think. What are we really proving?? And proving what to who??
When we see each other why do we see hatred? Why were we born in a storm, born soldiers, WARRIORS....and instead of building each other up we are at war with each other.. May the soul of this young person find peace with the almighty. I'm with you young warriors. You're me and I'm you. But trust me! you are fighting the wrong war."
After writing the letter, Nas took it upon himself to make the rounds in the media, stopping by BET and CNN to talk about his letter and what he wants to see done in the inner city. But instead of putting a primary focus on solutions, CNN chose to rehash the "are rap lyrics responsible for all of this?" argument to lead off their interview with Nas. You can take a look at that here:
CNN could have easily led that interview with "I Can" (video below) instead of "Shoot Em Up", but songs like that go against the slant of their story so it gets disregarded.
The only thing I give CNN credit for in this interview is asking a question that I've been asking myself for the last week. Why aren't more rappers speaking out about this horrible tragedy? Why are Nas and Killer Mike the only hip hop artists taking time out to really address this and reach out to the youth? (by the way, Killer Mike wrote an EXCELLENT blog post on this topic, I suggest you check it out)
Where are all the rappers who used to be in gangs (or have claimed to have been in one)? Their voices should have already been heard on this topic as soon as the news broke. Snoop Dogg? The Game, Young Jeezy, Jim Jones, Lil Wayne, Mack 10 etc... I could go on and on.
Artists from Chicago in particular should have spoken out, Common, Kanye West, Twista, Lupe Fiasco, R. Kelly, once again... I could go on and on. These people in particular could have very well been raised in the neighborhoods in which this happened.
What's scarier than incidents like these is the fact that a lot of us are getting used to it.
Comments (3)
Whoa..that Mike post was brilliant. I applaud Nas for stepping up, but he seemed a little reluctant in the interview...like he was holding back.
To me, all around the world, there is a distressing lack of value placed on humanity..it has nothing to do with hip hop in my opinion, because even in places where there are no TV's folks are being slaughtered for the way they look or for what they believe, or for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The media pushes FEAR, that is surely one cause of violence.
Many rappers only seem to speak up when someone is hating on them. I hate to say this but when the next senseless tragedy happens, we'll probably see a similar non-response again.
"Artists from Chicago in particular should have spoken out, Common, Kanye West, Twista, Lupe Fiasco, R. Kelly, once again... I could go on and on. These people in particular could have very well been raised in the neighborhoods in which this happened."
YOU ANSWERED YOURSELF VERY CLEARLY:
"What's scarier than incidents like these is the fact that a lot of us are getting used to it."
I can`t even say that in our generation because this kind of thing has been going on in the streets for so long, you are absolutley right, people are just use to senseless acts of violence in their everyday lives. The rappers from these areas probably just pass it off as "another day in the hood" or something to that effect. The sad part is, the entire country does the same thing and it doesn`t get heard unless the national news actually reports it. The only reason this story even got out was because it was on a phone... you have to ask yourself the question, how many innocent people fall victim to this type of garbage in every other city around our country? Respect to NAS and Killa Mike for not letting it be "Just another day in the hood". But you know, you can lead a horse to water...