On December 19, 2021, Darrell Caldwell (aka Drakeo the Ruler) was stabbed to death at age 28 during a rap concert headlined by Snoop Dogg. Draeko’s most popular album was Cold Devil. He was incarcerated multiple times on a variety of charges and recorded a song in jail. This is merely the latest in a long, long line of hip-hop related violent deaths. On July 11, 31-year-old Chicago rapper KTS (Londre Sylvester) was shot 64 times outside the Cook County Jail after being released on bail for a felony charge of illegal gun possession and resisting police. KTS stands for “Kill To Survive,” and the rapper had a target symbol tattooed on his neck. Rap/hip-hop is aggressive music, in its lyrics, in its sound, and in the attitude of the rappers, and it is not surprising that it has produced great violence. It is so morally filthy that a large percentage of the lyrics cannot be quoted, practically none of the videos can be shown in decent company, and it screams rebellion and insubordination. Probably no other one influence has so defiled black culture. It is doubtless a major contributor to inner city violence, juvenile delinquency, and the destructive phenomenon of absentee fathers. In the report “Rapper Hip-Hop Deathstyle” at the Way of Life web site we list a sampling of the violence that has enveloped the rappers themselves, and that is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the deaths that have occurred in the culture created by the music. “The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened” (Proverbs 10:27).
(Friday Church News Notes, February 25, 2022, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)