Why Are Rappers Getting Shot?

Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, thank you for tuning in to another episode of the culture. live and direct your boy Jeff. My man was good, homie.

I like how we pre record this. This is live and direct. It's live now. Now. Live get right he'll get it later. Friday. Y'all get later but right now we love. It'd be dope to record from the future. This is my birthday week. Yo, congratulations. Oh, you're turning

39 and trimming and the joints ain't the same. You get up in the morning and you older than me. But a couple years you get up in the morning, the knees, the back, the neck odor joints, like all types of noises and shit. So I got Rick, like, I gotta wake up extra early just to prepare myself to get out of bed. You know, I'm saying like, I get up like the undertaker just sit up like the undertaker. Then I slap my legs to the side. Then I just sit down for a little bit stretch, crack all the bones and all the neck joints. Then I go through my phone read up on my sports real quick look at my fantasy shit. It takes me like a good 510 minutes just to hop off the bed. Yo,

you wake up, look at your fantasy team.

I look at all my shit. Now, because this allows me to mentally and physically actually wake up. I got to prepare myself to actually get up. You know, I mean,

but whatever. But that's the thing. That's why you take your time getting up because once you up you up once you're down, you're down. Like but yeah. Are you a Napper?

No. Definitely don't get enough sleep in the day

at all. Give me like at night, anytime

of the day, like they say oh eight, I was asleep. I don't get eight hours. I don't really nap throughout the day. Unless I'm real tired. And I'm watching something I just pass out. But like, I was pushing it. I don't get that at all.

It's one of those numbers they came up with. Like, I'm getting exactly eight hours, I'm getting somewhere between five to seven. But I didn't get an eight. Like I got a timed out. And even

if and even if I don't got shit to do, like today, I was off from work. So I get up and I'm thinking I'm like, I'm gonna get the baby ready, take them to school, and then I'm gonna come back and go to bed. That doesn't happen though. Because once I'm like I'm up, it's like I'm already programmed, I can't go back to bed. You know, I'm saying no matter how tired I am with fatigue, or how much I want to go back to bed and get some shut out. Like I'm up. So now I feel like I got to do something productive with my day. I'm running some errands. I went and got a haircut. Like I just I can't. Once I'm up like it's hard for me to go back to sleep. Even if I get up just to go to the bathroom. Sometimes I'll get up in the middle of the night just because I gotta pee or whatever. And then I'll just sit back in bed and I'm like, Damn, I can't go back to bed. I said like I'm up once I'm up. It's like my brain tells me like you got to start your day, bro. My body be tired his shit my brain be like you got to start your day. Go do some shit.

And that's thing. When you get older, that's probably the most annoying thing. You got to pee more.

I know. And I'm always drinking water too. I'm drinking water like before bed to like I get thirsty right before bed. So I'm always drinking water right before I go to bed knowing that I'm gonna have to pee later.

Okay, how long expects but RST? I know it's stupid man but wants to like suck in a peppermint.

Or sometimes I wake up in the middle of night to pee and then I have to stop at the fridge and drink and drink some water.

Got to get Ditto. Like man,

drink some water. And then I'm like Dad, I know at five in the morning. I'm gonna have to get up again. Which is

the worst is worth the worst is when you make up like in between that you wake up pee and like you gotta go back sleep like three more. I was like, shit.

Let me get it then I got it. And then I gotta walk around the house in the dark too. Because if God forbid, I turn on a light boom that said I'm gonna be up. Like that's gonna trigger something in my brain. like, Yo, get the fuck up. And I'm saying like, I got to keep your dog navigate through everything, all the toys. I'm stepping on all types of shit. Bumping into shit. Just to try to keep a semblance of you know mean of sleepiness. Because the minute a light comes on, it's a wrap.

All right, Rachel, thank you just you fill out in the dark one. You don't gotta turn the light on want to stick your

phone? Nah, it's light shining like that. And then like I said before, I'm gonna be compelled to check all my shit check all my emails that came through overnight my check my fantasy that I pick up that dude that I put in for the waivers last night. Like I'm gonna you know, I'm gonna go through all that shit. And then once I do that, that turns into like 20 minutes of me just navigating through shit. And that's it. Sleep is done.

You checking emails through everything, bro. You got you got to got to talk to somebody gotta

do it. I got ADHD, bro. You got distracted, I got easily distracted and then I gotta I gotta go once I go down that rabbit hole. It's a wrap. If I check one thing, I got to check everything. Like Oh shit, I got emails. I got messages. You know, I'm saying Oh, I gotta check the fantasy. Oh, what happened with the news? I gotta check the tweets.

That'd be important for you. I actually lose in a minute or two. I'm going to move news is the accident to my gosh.

But that's how I found but that's how I found out about takeoff. Rest in peace. I got up I went then everybody was talking about it. On Twitter, I'm like, What the fuck is going on? And I didn't really hear about it until I got in the car to take the baby to school. And it was talking about it on the radio on power 105 Angela Yee and Charlamagne were talking about it. And I was like, Oh, shit. So that's the segue, because that's what we're gonna be talking about. Today, man.

That's a segue.

I mean, that's a segue because it's sad, bro, that the show keeps happening. Like the senseless killings and like, these rappers just keep killing

themselves. All right, so So do you have the details of it? All I

know, is because it's sketchy. Like you hear some shit. It's still early, right? Like this should just happen a day ago from this recording. And you know, they were saying that it was over a dice game. Confrontation started, somebody pulled out people started shooting. He got hit right. Then they were saying it was accidental it and they were saying it was somebody from his own camp. They were saying it was first I heard it was Quevedo. One of his own dues from migos. And they were saying it wasn't Cueva but it was somebody else from the camp. So it's still, you know, all the details are still sketchy. It's still it's still fucked up, though.

That's why it's hard to have this conversation because we don't really know yet. We don't really

no, but all we know, all we really know is that another rapper got gunned down. And it's becoming too common and all we're seeing it off too often. And we're becoming desensitized to it. You see more fuckers just recording the shit just standing there recording the dead corpse on the ground. Nobody's calling for help. They just record them because that's what society is now. We're just desensitized to the shit. Because we see so often. The motherfuckers are just recording the shit and posting it on the social medias for likes and views.

I rather have a conversation about that than that man to death that in all honesty. I hate this generation. I hate this clock generation.

I hate it. Robin. So

if something happens to me, get me to a hospital first before you record anything. Like everybody wants to be on social media. They want to be like everyone has a fear of missing out like everybody wants to be first I want like I like like, yeah, oh, I was I took a video. Like, why? Like, if someone's in danger, you need help, should probably you know, help them first like you. Your first instinct isn't to call 911 The first instinct is to record like, that's what I understood it during the George floor thing. And trying to like, record the interactions of police officers and so on so forth. Yeah.

We're bringing awareness that's bringing awareness to a fundamental problem that we have in this country.

And you bring an awareness to

a drive by or whatever it was some senseless shooting, you're recording it. That's Wow. You know, there's no justification for that.

A dice game, like we rich in a day scheme. I'm cool, man. I'm cool.

And, you know, I'm happy that we didn't have social media that we didn't have smartphones when we was coming up. You know, I'm saying I still remember hearing when Tupac died on the radio. I was in a car. I remember hearing that shit. And that shit was crazy, right? And then six months later, big dies, right? Same way gets gunned down. There was no social media. There was no people on the phones to record it. All right. But when those deaths happened, that show was a big deal, right? That show was a big deal. Like oh shit, gun violence. Rappers getting gunned down. This is crazy. This has to stop. Then a few years later, Big Pun dies but he didn't get gunned down right he got he died because of obesity. Heart attack, but then we have right then we had Jam Master Jay he got gunned down right, early 2000s. And then we had a big L before that big L

they just it was a PMB rock getting shot. Rock.

Right. But what I'm saying is when the show happened when we was coming up in the 90s, early 2000s. I just mentioned two or three different instances and it was years apart. This shit is happening frequent multiple times a year now. Yo since 2018 At least one rapper has been gunned down per year every year

in order to in his dumbshit like young dwarf die getting cookies PMB was was getting something to eat up take off was just a bystander. I'm going to roll with the assumption if I'm going to be corrected I'll be correct in the future. Because it seems like he was always the calm cool when he would never involve no shit seemed like he just caught a stray. It's never like it never like some some beef is always like, like PNB was eaten. Take off was just chillin. Like it wasn't like they was in a shootout. Or like do this like they're just doing regular shit. Like when dudes rent and housing killed pop smoke. You just say like, yeah, it just we're all like all

in hip, knee. Nipsey Hussle drive by right

Nipsey was shot in front of his own store a store he built his own community trying to give shit back.

Half hour. Half hours gunned down. And all these cancers in the 20s bro like why is the magic number in the 20s big and podcast shot they were both in the 20s early 20s mid 20s all the dudes getting shot now again in their 20s

Well be happy you turn 39

And they rap about the shit to like, you know, they talk about like you you bring shit and you speak shit into existence. You know what I mean? Like, like these people will talk about this shit. Like they talk about how big used to talk about life after death. You know, and I'm saying ready to die. And you know, POC mentioned it and all his lyrics like am I gonna live to be 22 You know what I mean? The only rapper that talked about whether he was going to live to be it was Coolio when he did live to be old enough, you know, he rapped about when I lived to see 22 You know, I don't know whatever. But big talked about dying early part talked about dying early. And they manifested this shit with a word. Like doesn't have something to do with the lyrics you know, I'm saying what does that have something to do with the lifestyle they live in? They glorifying all the you know, whatever they glorifying guns and violence and they flaunting all the jewelry and all the money and posting it on social media and talking about this type of lifestyle that makes them a target. Is that part of the problem?

I don't know because Jay Z talked a lot about selling dope. And then he talks about me when it goes to dope.

But right but but but that's one of the arguments that we always make. The people that we grew up listening to NAS Jay Z DMX, etc, whatever. NWA, they talked about shit that was happening in the streets and shit that they saw growing up. Jay talked about shit he used to do, right? There wasn't necessarily rapping about shit that they're still actively doing. A lot of these rappers today are rapping about shit, and then going to trial for shit that they actually did. And then the shit that they found in their lyrics, you

know, I'm saying and, and Robin Robertson, I'm sure and these people, right, you know, and they're trying to fight that they would like, the like, as a whole coalition of people, like, don't use people's lyrics against them in regards to crimes, but I'm like, I think you're right about that you shouldn't, because most of them aren't doing what they're doing. They're just talking but if something happened, and it's eerily similar to what you were talking about in the song, and it involves you like, Well, I gotta kind of use this shit dog seriously.

That's why the hip hop police gets involved. They're like, Yeah, well, you say he was gonna kill him with a foe foe. And it turns out though, that the body we found was shot with a foe foe. You know what I mean? And so you say you was driving a Lambo, and it turns out that all the eyewitnesses said that they saw a Lambo driving off. They're like, Yeah, we got to put two and two together.

I thought a full full come on the Lambo. And that was a no go. Yeah, that's you, it's you. But like, but rappers always talk reckless. Remember with Tupac tip, my full full make sure none of your kids grow

like that. That was a while I lost a little respect for him for that. I kind of tried to I wanted to ignore that. He said that, because that was a wild line.

Right? Once you understand, but you understood the state of mind. You knew how you feel and what it was going through. But

it was right your way said that. Right. But when he said that nobody's kids were killed. Right? No, kids were found dead or shot. Biggest kids weren't shot. Like no, you don't. I'm saying? If biggest kids all of a sudden would have been found shot, then yeah, Tupac would have been a prime suspect. Correct.

The troublesome part is that you can't we it's a struggle with a culture when we're trying to worry about being real. And if I'm being honest, like hearing all the bitches and hoes growing up, didn't make them want to be a womanizer. And about drugs and guns didn't make me want to carry it. So I always found the argument kind of weak when they say like that. Like you should watch them there's because of the children because it influences children. But here's the thing if you're a kid, you get to cheat you're not supposed to anyway, like your parents can only hide that shit from you for so long. But you go to school your friends hear you hear someone so forth. Like there's no getting around. It doesn't have any influence on children. No, and I hate that reasoning. It doesn't like if you're worried about rep influencing your children. That means in your personal influence in your children is severely lacking. What is gotta be is that if they listen to you guys playing like, they're just talking, they're not killers. They're not murderers. They're not rapist, and then a nerd. None of the above. They're entertainers and like some of them take the shit too far I think is one of the things like like to surf is a battle rapper who got like locked up on a RICO charge. It's one of my favorite battle rappers. But it's one of the things Like, he probably got caught up because he was still like doing his bachelorette career. But doing some free shit. I don't. It's one of the things that we either got to be in or out. And I think a lot of these a lot of dudes to play in the middle is this is what calls near death. No, because the thing will take off, I'm I'm going to roll with an accent if it changes in the future. I'll change my word. I think that was just a tragic accident. Something happened and he just caught the bullet because bullets and got no names. P and B was eaten and someone saw him and they came in to Robin and it went sideways. Like these things happen. But the whole you know, if you make violent music, you're gonna die violently. Like that's hard to say when rock and roll dudes live forever. They talk about they talk about guns to talk about violence, talk about drugs. My folks live live 6780

But the thing with rock and roll is when they do die they die from overdose or suicide. Oh, and he got old. You know what I'm saying? None of them get shot. Never not one. They don't get shot. They don't shoot each other. They don't get shot. They overdose because they obviously do a lot of drugs. They commit suicide because a lot of them are depressed like the guy from Linkin Park you don't I mean that you can hear it in their lyrics that they're depressed about some share, they're going and they commit suicide like that's, that's prevalent in the rock community, suicide and overdose, shooting 0% But not only are more and more rappers dying these days to young ones too. But out of all the deaths 51% of them are murders 51% You got your you know, you got your Mac Miller's that overdose and you got a lot of you know, different ones that commit suicide or they overdose or they die accidentally. Juice world

didn't do X X X that didn't get shot.

Your DOS, he sounds like somebody that would have overdosed on some. I hate to say that. No offense.

I'm pulling it up right now. Keep

on what I'm saying is 51% of rap deaths are murders are acts of gun violence. That's crazy. That's an astronomical figure, bro.

I know they shot him. They shot his ads, right? And was he was an SUV. A struggle occurred in reaching a car and vehicle to steal this bag and then shot him a couple of times. Guys, he got murdered.

And just this year alone, bro. Just as I remember I said since 2018 At least one rapper gets shot a year. And this year alone has been a whole truckload of them.

I don't mean to laugh with it like man a lot of them up.

But you know, rapper by the name of Jay stache, California 28 years old shout up. Little Devin from Indiana 24 years old shout up wavy Navy pu 28 years old from Miami Florida drive by shooting T dot Whoo 22 from New York shot up shooting wild and he's 36 he's probably the He's the oldest one out of this whole list or anybody that had been shot up he's the oldest 136 from Texas grad a Texas right we're takeoff got shot. Good new 24 out of DC another senseless shooting. Like the list is go on and on. Granted, these are rappers that I listened to I'm pretty sure you don't listen to a lot of these guys. But these are the you know, these are the rappers that this generation is listening to you know, these are this generations but big and POC these are the influences, right? And I'm just trying to figure out like what's causing it? Is it their lyrics? Is it their lifestyle? You know what I mean? Like is it social media because my focus is always on social media posting about what they doing where they at and posted up in such and such Street. I'm holding my gun. I'm doing this I'm robbing this, you know, whatever, whatever the case, they putting themselves out there so everybody knows where you're at, at any given time. They know what jewelry you're wearing at any given time because you posted it.

I think it's a confluence of both I think it's more the life they have before they started rapping and life they know is what the rap about and what it might have tried to escape because of mine in life. But the rapping about their life which happened to be violent. Like I like I don't like I understand people say they have opposite opposition. I don't because I've not built that way like I'm just trying to figure out how all these people got like you got people you disagree with it's violence is gang shit. It's always the fourth everybody gang member everybody's everybody, everybody flag everybody trying to try to be like, like, that's just not hit, like, like people will do that. Like they don't live long lives and they're super aware that but it keeps going back at the same time. Like it doesn't make sense to me.

You know, but even when we was growing up, everybody was reppin, Bloods and Crips Snoop Dogg. You know I'm saying Jim Jones, the game all these dudes either reppin, bloods Crips, whatever, and none of them was getting gunned down. None of them was going to trial for murder of Snoop Dogg the one time and he was found innocent

even on him even even boy I mean I suppose it may not be by nature, like once in a double if that's hilltown of Inglewood that's it but once again it's within a trench is very much alive kg and really very much alive. Like it is what it is but you never really get yourself caught some gangster shit because you will entertainer like I know associates of it but I'm not living like that it doesn't need to be that way you know what I mean?

But it was like It's like nah says it's the life we chose we're friends become foes and the dough will get you killed quicker and you know I'm saying these kids are making money at 20 years old they make a hell of money. They're on social media they rockin all this jewelry you know what I mean? And either and either their boys or their team that's around them or even the record labels I think you got to put some blame on the record labels to like whoever their team and their management is is not protecting these kids

they're not I'm saying they're not encouraging know why I don't wish anything upon anybody. But like six nine out here chillin chillin and he'd been to jail he didn't got caught up with some gang shit and someone's fault but he stayed protected because he's making

I was takeoff dead and six nines is six nine is chillin,

because it would take take the custody take off as I'm going to roll. This is purely accident. Some people you look at you can tell like, you're not call them soft, but like, That's not the thing. He was always like, always people in the migos Oh, say he's the most lyrical in there. Right? Really,

you really could rap. But he was also the less popular,

but because he's also low key one, because he was like, the other two was flashy, like he was there. And it wasn't a big deal about him. Not in a negative way. But he's just very simple. Good flow, good lyricism. And quite simply, the issue that it runs into is like, did someone aim to kill him? No, because it was a place where I don't think and that's the whole thing. The reason why I think it's an accident, because only like one gun off maybe two, if you have some real shit and all these people supposed to be about their life, everybody should be holding these Right, exactly what not necessarily. Some happened, some shots rang off, and then he got hit, then parts of my fight back and that was it. Because I don't if it was supposed to be what everyone is suing in their mind. It is it's not. And because he's just like, he's a quiet one. He don't get caught up in none of this shit. You never heard about him getting involved in no drama at all. So is it a tragic accident yet, but it still? Anytime someone loses their life, you have to kind of reassess? What is the cause of all this? And it's really not a simple answer. Because you're not getting the full spectrum of what it could be from anybody. That's the bad part. But you know, something, and something happened and something that occurred, but you're like, fuck, what's the answer? And there's no answer. This is this. This is gun violence. But it's not like we're involving the gangs and the music and the lyrics and everything else like that. But it's, it's a probably a tragic accident. But you still need to reassess it because you're noticing a pattern of behavior, which causes young men to easily reach like the age of 30. And that's an that's troublesome. In you need to figure that out. You need to see like, is it alert? I don't think it's alerts because we've been talking about lyrics forever. When see the last sucker tried to shoot with NWA in them. And so it's not the lyrics. It's life in society. They're rapping about a very ill community. And they're trying to rise above it, but they don't really have the, I guess the the lyrical know how to rap about something else that might be it ain't gotta be positive. Let's be, let's be honest about it. It doesn't have to be positive, but it has to be good. But like with drill music, it doesn't have to be good. You just kind of midway through it and this, this gun that hold that crack that Coke, this EDA X that like it's like, it's basic, you're not and but the generation that's around, they eat the shit up. They love it like, oh, man, it's like not it's not good man. It's not showing their dexterity that's not showing the lyricism. It's just words over a thumping, beat. Nothing more, nothing less. But the problem is like, Alright, you've identified a problem. Do you see that there entirely too many young men who are entertainers in the world of rap that are getting gunned down? The thing is, what kind of solutions can you actually come up with?

I don't know, man. But let's let's let me tell you what the experts say okay. All right, because the experts think that it's a more complex problem. Ellen Richardson, she's a professor at The Ohio State University who specializes in African American cultures, literacy and hip hop. She said it's important to prioritize systemic issues when we discuss the killing of rappers. It's a reflection of the problem of gun violence in the larger society and violence in general in America. You have to think critically about oppression and the law. context we live in. Gun violence is a part of the condition of black people in society, everything that is dangerous and harmful to the larger society. There's always going to be a disparity in our communities. It's all systemic as part of the way society is structured. Richeson added. I mean, I guess. Yeah.

I mean, I said, it's like, it seems like it's nicely thing, but it's more of a societal problem than, like, okay. They're right. And I agree with them. Because I'm gonna say women. It's not a gun violence problem within rap. It's a gun violence problem in general. Like, remember before, a few months ago, we was on the show with the other gentleman talking about same thing with guns, and so on and so forth. Yeah, it's a societal issue, especially in this country, because you know why we love fucking guns more than we love guns more than our family, like Western wheat. And that's and that's the way it feels good. The way it's ugly. Not the bad part is this. Even if you're anti gun, even if you don't want one, you almost feel with the way that the world is we have to be compelled to get one just to have just in case because you know, everyone else got this. And I don't want to be a hit lacking or I need to protect my family. You might never shoot the shoot your entire life, but just want to have it for the sake of heavy, heavy, heavy, heavy thought about getting more know what's stopping you.

I think we talked about this the first time I ever shot a gun was with you, you took me to the range. And I shot a gun. And it was cool. It was a fun experience. But I didn't like the power that I felt, you know, I'm saying I didn't like the I didn't like I felt almost godly.

I get it. I get that.

And I didn't like that feeling that at any moment. I can just take somebody's life with this in my hand. It was it was actually kind of scary. Like my wife felt the same way. Because she went with us. And like I just didn't I didn't feel comfortable with that with having that type of power in my hands. You know what I'm saying? Does that make sense?

It does and that's because you have a conscience you have a soul.

Right? Granted I live in New Jersey. I don't live down south where everybody's carrying. I don't live in Florida, you know, I mean, we were it was almost mandatory to have one maybe my perspective would be different if I did live down there and I saw that everybody had one and I felt compelled to get one but as it stands right now No, I don't want to have one I don't want to own

it. Right because it is if

you own it, if you own it, then you're going to be compelled to use it. And that's when mistakes and accidents can happen. You

can but like I like I like I'll show mine and play around with it but I'm not really compelled to use it. I just go to the range from time to time just to make sure my shirt stays on point just in case something ever happens is more right get prepared or anything else but like I said these dudes isn't like I said the guy's name. I wouldn't necessarily call them no name rappers let's just call them up and coming. Okay, it's more respectful than more expected they're not really in a position where they can like higher security or have that kind of protection around them all the time so on so forth, the people protect them was probably the people to grown up with and people have grown up was probably trapped I mean shit that happened. right not to me but I know people that are in that those areas in our in those rooms that when they need someone to wash their back, they trusted the people and the people might have some a little dirt underneath nails. My dad did some things in the past, right? And these are people that kind of watch it back but they can't watch it back 24/7 They got live families things to do. So like to make money get caught in situations. You don't expect it like take off the perfect example. I don't think in any way shape or form. Like rest and peace of that man. I don't think that because he's going to a bowling alley for a birthday party for somebody else. There's no way in the world you thought this is the day I'm gonna die. Because you can live like that all the time you pregnant really depressed but there's no way he thought that I wouldn't have thought that if I go to bed go to bed and I forgot to move if they don't walk in with it. Like man smoke coming into our shooting, said I'm gonna die like now I'm sitting and I'm gonna just move with some happen. I can think I keep my mind well enough to kind of get out of here alive. Hopefully, I know the drill. I've been around enough shooting to kind of be wise of what to do. No one's expecting that no one I don't think anyone was expecting that this tragic accident was going to happen that night. But the whole thing again, it comes back to society. If this is a place where it's a birthday party and his bowling and supposed to be fun in love and the dice game. I mean, that's just whatever that's just a fact that happens or curb it's not really a big thing. What is it that compels you that in that time that somebody has to have a gun? Like we all know each other? It's all love. It's all fun. We're having a great time. Even if we got to the argument we can just yell each other and talk it out or whatever. Why if the place that you're supposed to feel safe at is supposed to have a gun like the whole thing with school shootings, they were like they were too When we're arming teachers, like, it's supposed to be a safe space for them, you shouldn't shouldn't be armed. But people like not, it's really a good idea that you just have it just to have it. But like, that's not how things are supposed to be. This is the world we live in. We're trying to figure out and discuss a way to deal with society's issues, not necessarily ours. The prominence you could run into in regards to that is that there's no simple answer. We try to but there's a lot of social mechanisms that go along with it to try to get a result that I don't know if you satisfactory people. The most logical ones like nobody, they have guns at all. But we didn't wrote it into our Constitution. People taking the form and everybody needs that APR, like, nope, the law says we can get one we gonna get one. But like that, I mean, you got to handle it responsibly. All the sheets weird. And like I said, we're having this conversation again, because we're gonna have it again, then we're gonna have it again. Because eventually, someone's going to die, wait, or have they they should. And we're going to end up in a situation again, talk about this again. Well, we always talk and we never come up with a functional solution. So even now we're trying, but I don't think we can come up with an answer. That's kind of, you know, resolute for everybody. And that's the scary part.

I talked about record labels being held accountable a little bit. Bobby Fischer, Vice President of a&r for Empire record, he said, I think anyone who signs an artist there's a component of compassion to make sure your artists is safe. However, you can't manage the artist 24/7 Fisher set of claims that record labels should do more to protect rappers. He noted that there's only so much labor officials can do to keep artist safe without controlling their personal lives. They're out doing shows or going to be with their loved ones. Most of the time artists come from impoverished neighborhoods that they go back to trying to show support and love you can advise as much as possible in areas of work you can provide security, but artists have their own lives outside of being artists. Fans nor label officials ever get you will ever get used to such violence and call the deaths traumatizing. Alright, so it's not the lyrics. We can't hold. We can't hold the record labels accountable because they can't be with the artist 24/7 experts say is the way they grew up is the systemic racism is this, you know, the whole system as a whole guns, gun violence, but what else could it be? You know, I'm saying I think social media has a little bit to do with it as well. I feel like excellent braggadocious this braggadocious social media I mean, like I said, they're posting all this shit social media, which is where I'm at, this is what I'm wearing. This is where I'm doing, you know, I'm saying I think it's a combination of everything. The lyrics, social media, the whole braggadocious lifestyle. I mean, that should always existed. But now you're in the public eye more than you ever been. You know what I'm saying? Like before we was waiting for for magazines to come out right. Double examine the source to see the latest story, the latest news, the latest clothing, we was waiting weeks a month. Now is instant. Everything's instant. You open up your phone, you can see everything somebody's doing saying where they're at what they're wearing with them. You know what I mean? You don't need to read magazines. You don't have to wait for the newspaper the next day to know a goddamn thing. We will have to wait for days, weeks, months, even some time to know some shit. Now everything's instant, right in your hands, right and your fingertips. So in real time, so you know what everybody's doing in real time. Right? You know what I mean? But why are they compelled to always put the shit out there? Like these people, these rappers the incriminating themselves. They'd be flaunting shit. Bragging about shit. And the next man who doesn't have shit that wants what you have, they know exactly where you're at. They know exactly what you're wearing. They might feel some type of way or the bragging you've been doing in your in your songs. They all run up on you. You know me, let me hold that. And if you resist Guess what? We all got guns. Especially if it's down south in Florida and Georgia, and Texas. These are the gun states. This is where a lot of this shit has happened. And

he had been robbed before.

Have I ever been robbed? Yes, one time I have shed though. They tried to rob me. I can't say I've been robbed. I try to I have

been robbed a couple of times, man. I get it shut up.

Well focus on like, Yo, run your pockets. I'm like, Dude, I don't got shit, man. I haven't gotten

what you want to unblock. I ain't gonna shoot come look at it right now, man. But that's the way it goes sometimes man just get robbed. You got that's it? Yeah, maybe

but more focused. You know the braggadocious you know, I'm this hard hip hop artist. Like you ain't robbing me. Especially if I'm packing. I'm a brandish. You're gonna brand it somebody's gonna get shot. And a lot of the times as we've seen as these rappers getting shot and killed

Yeah, just try not to get shot. So

alright, so a video I saw a video earlier on you on Twitter. Somebody posted. These motherfuckers was posted up on the corner. Just listen No music bro just bumping their head like a boombox is some shit. And it was it was a it was some black dudes and then it was a white boy in the crew he was doing he was on the street just dance and pop into whatever song there was but some do pulls up in a car comes out of a jeep. sucker punches the dude, the white boy jumps back in his whips and just drives off out of nowhere, like some random just punches the shit out of the white boy white boy drops. And he's bleeding. He's all fucked up. His boys are like, Yo UI like yeah, what the fuck was that? And I'm like, yo, this is where we're at now, bro, that people are just randomly jumping out hopping out of vehicles and sucker punching people in the streets just vibe and you can't even vibe out in the corners no more without getting sucker punched. Like, this is where society is now, bro. That's crazy. My entire life bro. I grew up in the hood. And I grew up next to bodegas. And in the corner on the corner. There was always a bodega in the corner. And in that corner, there was always drug dealers every night. My parents still sent me to the fucking bodega. Yo, go get bread, go give me the newspaper. I need this. I need that unit. I mean, here's the money to the lady at the bodega. We owe her $2 You'll pay her back. Go get me whatever. I was going through the bodegas and um, you know, had to pass by the drug dealer. I said, What's up to them? So, I knew from school, some of them I did, and it was whatever I wasn't starting beef. No, nobody. I looked down. I went to the bodegas, I got the bread. I came home. Nobody was worried about if I was gonna get shot, but he's more focused. I was if somebody was gonna sneak attack me and sucker punch me, you know what I mean. But you can't even show outside no more. Because you might get shot, you might get sucker punch, a stray bullet might find you for no reason over some senseless shit. The only thing we was worried back about back then is wearing the wrong colors in the wrong neighborhood. But you was conscious of that you. You wasn't gonna show up in a random neighborhood wearing all red. You wasn't going to show up in a random neighborhood wearing all blue. You know what I mean? These are the things we were conscious of. Like we knew better. But now it could be anything. Yeah, it could be for no reason at all. Like, yeah, I'm just bored. We're just gonna shoot somebody. I'm depressed. I'm living me. And I don't like what my situation is at home. I'm getting abused at home by my mom or my dad, whatever. I'm just gonna go out and just attack random people like, this is where we are now, bro.

I never said this one the Cool World never said and none of this shit makes sense. I never said that. I agree with any form of violence or crime. I don't know if like that. But people grew up amongst it. They grew up around it. And they rose above it just kind of it's for certain people, especially for lower socio economic class. These things occur. And the thing that you worry about what anything else is like? You're just hoping that you don't end up like them and a good amount of time you don't. You're solid, you're good to go. Like you said, your parents took it to the store, you did the right thing. You didn't worry about too much. Like so you're functioning adult and everything's all good. The thing is, like what happens to those that get left behind the things we can't fix the things that keep occurring? Like this violence, like say, just surrounded by it. It's it's everywhere you look, it's everywhere you be it's it's in your neighborhoods, it's on your corners, it's on your blocks. It's in your cities, it's everywhere you try to do, you can weave in and out of it to duck to avoid any news. It is it is very much so that's why I need to check the news anymore. Because the first thing is rapes and murders of some other folks that that happened didn't get the sports. It's like it's such a weird transition. But if this is how society supposedly it's how your life is going to be like, how do you handle it? Like what do you do about this? And like I said, we're trying we're really trying we just can't come up with an answer that's field for anybody out outside of just trying to show people more respect and show love for not even other people to show love for yourself. Just realize that life is precious isn't you carrying that thing around on you like you can end somebody's over some dumb like, like over, I'm gonna call them money down but money jealousy, envy, hate greed, whatever sin you want to choose, whatever, whatever. Yes. It doesn't make sense to get that what you can try to get for yourself. Maybe you don't have the education or the skills or the talent to rise above your statute. So you choose to go a different route which is still unnecessary, because you're only hurting it's not like you know, criminals leave a poor neighborhood and go to rich neighborhood and robbing you robbed the people you live around. Which always no fine with, like your local like, I like you robbed me last week. I know who you are. I ain't gonna tell a cop something like that. Because I know how Y'all give it up. But that's the strange thing. Right? So when you're trying to find an answer to a question that you think, you know, the simple answer is really, you know, know love and respect for yourself and your fellow man Well, I mean what does that look like? How do you put an actual practice because I think that's that's a start I don't know I think it's probably legislation is something that needs to be done in regards to it but there just has to be honor respect of each other just to begin to do something to start the download because this point at this time it's kind of getting fucking ridiculous.

But yeah, man, I'm off this shipment because it's just getting depressed. We ain't shout out to patrons. I want to shout out to coach a crew real quick. I think I figured I remember I said before that we were losing patrons they were dropping out or whatever. I think I figured out what's happening is either their credit cards are declining. Yeah, or, or is expiring it happens too. Sometimes the card expires right and they don't they don't update on the website. I don't want to call them broke. I don't want to say our patrons have broken like that. But I'm just saying like if the ship declines, you know, the website is going to try a couple of times and if your car doesn't go through it and they're sick, they just go and they just take you off exactly. Somebody might be broke if you're broke just let us know you know what I'm saying? We work with shop if your card expiry I got a new card is going to website and update it please you know we encourage you to update the cards say but if you're broke Yeah, bro we understand it's all good. We still love Yeah, we appreciate the support. Special shout out to Lavasa pain. Prescott, man, she's a superfan she listens to us all the time.

Thank you, man. Appreciate it.

Amelia Earhart said a single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions and the roots spring up and make new trees I keep saying this shit we got to do better man we got to do better. Yeah, we're gonna keep on trying. And we're gonna keep on keeping on the culture. Happy birthday to me.

Happy birthday. I'm not playing I'll play the happy birthday song whenever you are not doing it right now. There you go

check out the website culture dot one peace and love your

Nas - Life We Chose [Chorus] It's the life we chose, where friends become foes And the dough'll get you killed quicker than you know This is the life we chose, bring fake snakes and hoes And the only way out, is death or going broke This the life we chose, ain't too many happy endings That's why there ain't too many happy niggas in it And I'll admit it, this life is fucked up but yo.. This life is the only life I know... [Verse 2] Uhh, what's love when you don't give your man enough dough? He wanna stick you What's love, you got beef? Nobody rolling with you What's love, you locked up, and your family don't care Is love a four-letter word, that deceives the ear? What's real, when you know your man's girl is a ho And you don't even let him know, 'cause you fucked her befo' What's real, when you talk behind a man's back Then you see him and give him dap, now explain that? What's trust, when they separate your case When you at your court date, your co-de', can't look in your face