Takeoff, a member of the popular rap Atlanta trio Migos, was shot and killed in Houston, Texas during a private party early Tuesday morning.
His death marks the second time in three months that a prominent rapper has been killed, following the shooting and death of Philadelphia rapper PnB Rock in Los Angeles on Sept. 12.
It feels as if every year, the rap community loses prominent rappers left and right.
At least one rapper has been killed by gun violence every year since 2018, according to a Tuesday CNN article.
It has become abundantly clear that being a rapper can be one of the most dangerous careers in the music industry.
In the span of 14 months, rappers Drakeo the Ruler, Young Dolph, Trouble, JayDaYoungan and Young Slo-Be were killed in addition to Takeoff and PnB Rock.
Rappers getting killed is not a new phenomenon. Nipsey Hussle, a prominent rapper from south central Los Angeles, was killed in a shooting in 2019 after a dispute with a friend.
As a fan and long-time listener of rap, the violent songs and actions from rappers are also a byproduct of the people who listen and follow it.
Violence is as big of a part of rap culture as iced out chains and Air Jordans.
However, even with rap culture facing a lot of blame for violence, that blame correlates to poverty or systemic racism, which many people who foray into rap face in their lives.
From the violent lyrics to the weapons in music videos, rap culture and its fans have made it normal for artists to flaunt violent acts in public and behind closed doors, which has led to real bloodshed in the streets.
There have been instances of rap lyrics having consequences, with one particular example dating back to Tupac Shakur’s feud with Biggie Smalls.
In Shakur’s hit single “Hit ‘Em Up,” he raps about Smalls, “Fuck you and yo' motherfuckin' mama / we gon' kill all you motherfuckers / All of y'all motherfuckers, fuck you, die slow, Motherfucker / my .44 make sho' all y'all kids don't grow!”
In September 1996, Shakur was shot and killed three months after the song was released in Las Vegas. Smalls was shot and killed six months following Shakur’s death.
For some rappers, their life on the streets plays a big part of their musical identities. New York rapper Jay-Z rapped extensively about his life as a drug dealer in his early albums, but shifted his lyrics away from street life as he gained more fame.
Whether it's true or not, it’s easy to rap about the life one has had on the streets and gain fame and notoriety from it.
That cycle of rappers portraying their street lives into their music and on social media puts these artists in dangerous situations.
The problem that comes into play for many rappers today is that playing the role of a “gangster” is appealing and is a quick way to rise to the top, according to a June 7, 2021 article by Complex magazine, a pop culture news outlet that covers the modern rap scene.
Listeners who do not come from dangerous environments push to see rappers flaunt their ‘gangsta’ lifestyles.
However, listeners don’t realize the reality of the music and the street code that goes into being a rapper.
People who enjoy this type of music don’t consider the realities of “rap life” and how the music can be taken literally to people who feel affected by it.
Consumers shouldn’t be rooting for more violent music and actions from rappers, but for artists to show more to their lives than their violent pasts or present.
At some point, fans of rap need to look in the mirror and realize listening to violent music could get real people hurt, or even worse, killed.
