Tragedy keeps striking hip-hop as culture, genre of music and now as a global lifestyle. PNB Rock was tragically murdered and not even a full 60 days from his tragic demise, we now have Takeoff; A bonafide rap superstar of his era. PNB Rock’s murder was not supposed to happen. Takeoff’s murder was not supposed to happen.

It’s difficult to speak glowingly about the culture and music that I feel helped me create a voice and identity. It’s hard to sit and listen to certain music and think of it as “just entertainment” anymore. It’s disrupting to my spirit to mourn the loss of so many young black men and hear some of their music after they’ve passed and it sink in that they may have described their own demise in their songs.

I’m not sure I want to cover hip-hop at all anymore. It’s starting to hurt too much. I don’t want to consume and digest black destruction, black violence and black death anymore. I don’t want to report on beef or ask about traumatic experiences. I also don’t want to support any other platform that does it either. Doesn’t matter if it’s black owned or not. I’m just not willing to do that anymore. I love a good music debate like anyone else. I also like to listen and appreciate all eras of rap music and define the true greats of every generation. It doesn’t seem possible to only do that anymore. I’m kind of in the mindset of telling black and brown people to stop rapping. We can try to blame “being in the streets” or “wrong place wrong time” but we have two different situations where the rapper didn’t do anything to anybody and his life was taken away. You can literally do nothing as a rapper and be killed right now. It’s a sick and crazy world right now. It’s layers of accountability and this post isn’t about that.

I don’t blame rappers for quitting. I understand if sales drop. I understand if attendance for shows gets low. The kind of trauma we are opening ourselves up to is not normal and we shouldn’t frame it as such.

Lastly, It’s time to end slander of the artist that “don’t come outside”. Look what’s outside right now? Why would anyone want to participate in that?

The messages in the music. The people in the industry. The mindset of many involved on all levels; It’s time to get away from all this right now.

Please BE SAFE no matter what you do. Love