Hip-Hop Thread Genre • Page 271

I guess my point is I don't think that's the most critical conversation to be having right now. Peep didn't die because of how rap treats drugs. He died because of how society treats addiction and depression. That's the more important conversation imo. What can be done to make people see they can get help and it's okay to ask for help. What can we do to make people struggling want to get sober. What can we do to support people going through addiction and/or mental health issues. What can the industry do to support their artists mentally and physically instead of exploiting their pain?

 

It feels like an offshoot of the argument that rap is bad for kids, which has taken a lot of different forms over the years and almost always comes from a place of racism/classism. Thinking about how NWA was criticized for “glorifying” gangs, how Body Count “Cop Killer” became a national controversy, how O’Reilly blasted Cam’ron for rapping about “pimping and bitches,” etc etc. I think in most cases, the effort in the media and government is placed on making the music that comes from these experiences controversial on some “think of the children” nonsense, rather than working to fix the problems of gang violence and police brutality that created an environment where the music was made.

The situation with Peep isn’t necessarily one-to-one but I think there’s more of an American issue with opioids at the moment that needs to be addressed, and choosing to focus on whether or not guys like Peep and Pump are glorifying drugs misses the institutional failings that created that environment.

 

He doesn't glorify, plenty of other rappers' songs do though. There are plenty of songs about having fun with molly that don't have any deeper context. "Blaming" all of those on larger societal problems is too easy. Things weren't rosy when people were making anti-drug songs in the 80s either.

And yeah some would see that as part of the "rap is bad for kids" discussion, but it isn't coming from me. You would know that if you would know me. It's fine though, let's move on.

EDIT: I'm not even saying such songs should not exist. Not at all. They should. I just think it's something to think about.

 

Why is Peep posting videos of himself getting fucked up on IG? If his music was about reaching out and speaking about his struggles, then why post videos like that just to garner fans?

 

People aren't dropping dead left and right from molly though. The xan and opiate thing is way different. Molly is treated like that because it's a relatively safe party drug, xan and opiates are much more dangerous and when I hear them mentioned it's usually not in a glamorous way. I think the drugs being mentioned matters when assessing what's being glorified

 

It all boils down to this, really.

 

I know what you mean. Not molly then, but exactly what I said also applies to codeine, and that is killing people.

 

Yes and no. There's so much "molly" out there that isn't actually molly and isn't safe. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the music that glorifies it, but saying that it's okay to glorify one drug over another bc of safety, eh, idk...

 

Also, I only posted this because I am unfamiliar with Peep really and I'm genuinely trying to understand his career, his struggle, and his fans. Any insight is appreciated.

 

Didn't really say it's okay but it's undeniably different. But also like yeah it is okay to glorify some drugs over others. LSD is ridiculously safe, no one cared about Chance naming a whole album for it, weed is fine, etc. Putting all drugs on the same level is a mistake and the opposite of the kind of education we need. Molly isn't the safest drug out there, it's also not the most dangerous, but there isn't an epidemic caused by it so I think it being mentioned is not the same as opiates or benzos

 

I mean, you're right. Opiates and benzos are WAY more dangerous that LSD, weed, even molly. I dunno...

 

Because there are a decent amount of people out there who think taking Xanax and drinking lean and getting super fucked up is awesome. Most likely a portion of people who haven't won't touch the shit in their lives or don't understand the effects of the drug. The same reason why people smoking huge amounts of weed gets a lot of views. The difference being the levels of danger present in something like weed vs. pills or opiates. And there's a lot of people out there who are addicted and look to him as another person with the struggle. Him being so candid or goofy about it made him more likable to some.

 

The two extremes are both bad: People who say that hip hop is the devil and is cursing kids' lives and getting them addicted to pills and dying vs. people who normalize, and to an extent, glorify the mass opiate/pills epidemic in the country and sell clothes with Xanax pills and Lean cups on them etc. etc. There needs to be a middle ground of recognizing that people take drugs as a coping mechanism and finding other ways to support them through their struggles.

 

You're right. But it also happens with stuff that is killing people, codeine being an example like I mentioned above.

 

Exactly.

 

Then why are you trying to argue that he didn't glorify his drug use? Not trying to be contrarian, I'm just confused.

Sounds like he was depressed and used drugs to deal with that, but also thought doing drugs was kinda cool and bragged about his use on social media.

 

True about codeine in some instances, but also plenty of rappers who have rapped about the dangers of it as well such as Kevin gates and Danny brown, etc. I'm not saying there's no degree of glamorization at all, but there's so much rap that's just the reality of drug use that gets called glamorization incorrectly. So the blanket statement that rap needs to assess how it treats drugs just seems a little off to me. Plenty of rappers are real about it, yeah maybe some kids are dumb about it but kids are dumb about it outside of hip hop which gets to my bigger point about drug abuse being an issue everywhere right now. I think rap can do better in supporting the artists who are struggling with addiction and mental health issues, but I don't see the music itself as the problem.

 

I really want you all to understand that this isn't coming from a hostile or judgmental place. I'm straight edge, but that is because I witnessed very damaging substance abuse in the family (something hip hop helped me cope with like nothing else). Also, I still remember crying when Pimp C died, and I want the shit to stop.

Like I said, it's something we need to be able to talk about and I think you all made good points.

Hip hop is amazing.

 

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Watch 21 Savage’s Stunningly Awful NBA Halftime-Show Performance

 

Yeah full disclosure I've been abusing hard drugs since I was 18 and was a full blown heroin addict by 23, clean now for almost 9 months but have fucked with every drug you can think of besides like, meth. So this hits close to come because like I said I see someone like Peep die and think that could've easily been me. I just want people to be talking about the right things that will actually get people help and make changes

 

Please know that I'm not trying to criticize or minimize anyone's experience and I understand that addiction and depression are very real and can take extreme hold of people's lives. I'm trying to understand the landscape better regarding someone like Peep (who I'm unfamilar with) and young people dealing with these things, and the audience that it reaches.

 

Thanks for sharing. I'm glad you made it through man. I definitely agree with your point here.

 

Oh, to an extent there was glorification. But simplifying it to that or demonizing Peep because of his struggles is wrong. Not saying you did that, but it's all over social media