1. Youth gang
This is a screenshot of the single, “Falling Down” by Lil Peep and XXXTENTACION, playing on my Spotify web browser.
Miller refers the word youth gang to “a group of people, found mainly in urban areas, who are often considered a social problem by adults and law enforcement officials” (p. 144).
XXXTENTACION came to my mind instantly when I read about this word. X is a rapper that was shot dead in June this year. He was constantly in trouble for violent behavior; he was once expelled from school for beating up another student. By the time he was 17, he had already been charged with possession of a firearm, armed robbery, resisting arrest and Xanax possession. He has also violently beat a cellmate for doing “some gay shit” (Miami New Times). He is most notoriously known for abusing his pregnant ex-girlfriend. It was reported that he slapped his ex-girlfriend for listening to another rapper other than himself.
His music combines hip-hop and emo, and mostly sounded depressive. It reflected a life lived with disregard for humanity- both other people’s and his own. Miller (p.145) talks about how many gang members have a personality type called a defiant individualist, which has characteristics that X shows: intense competitiveness, mistrust of others, social isolation, self-reliance, a strong survival instinct.
2. Secondary group
On the same level, this photo also relates to the word secondary group. Secondary group means “a group of people who identify with one another on some basis but may never meet with one another personally” (Miller, p.140).
X is part of a new wave of Internet-bred music genre known as “SoundCloud rap”- music that embraces internet culture and heavy Xanax use. Lil Peep, another SoundCloud rapper, who died from a Xanax overdose, don’t get along with X. After both deaths, the single, “Falling down” was released just recently. The co-writer of the song couldn’t wait to share this song especially after sharing an old recording of X expressing regret that he never seemingly met Peep. Both artists rap in a similar “emo” fashion, and have face tattoos too- and thus could “identify with one another”. However, as Miller has put it, they will “never meet with one another personally”. Especially since both coincidentally died within a year.
As an anthropologist, I would love to learn more about how personal backgrounds can influence song-writing and song-making.