XAN WITH THAT LEAN
Fredo Santana, born as Derrick Coleman, passed away from a fatal seizure on January 19, 2018. Hip-Hop’s first death of the year. Fredo has been suffering from kidney and liver issues stemming from his use of codeine and promethazine. He was hospitalized in October 2017. Just two months before, hip-hop lost a new rapper that just got on the scene, Lil’ Peep, born as Gustav Elijah Åhr, who passed away from fentanyl overdose on November 15, 2017. Since the recent passings, fans and even other celebrities have made comments on social media about drug use in hip-hop. Twitter debated in threads about the glorification of drugs in hip-hop music and on social media. The debate was simple; hip-hop culture was to blame for drug use. Fans use remained loyal to the musicians in their rebuttal; saying not to blame hip-hop and to not focus on the rapper’s demons but their discography. The topic of drugs and hip-hop revived back into topic from back in 2015 when famous influencer, A$AP Yam$ who passed away from health issues that stemmed from his drug use, like Fredo.
Hip-Hop cannot be blamed for the rapper’s decisions because not ALL artists use drugs nor do they associate the influence to their work. Drugs are drugs and they don’t have a preference for a genre of music or a certain demographic. Before hip-hop was even getting recognized in the 80′s, Rock n Roll offered the fatal fate of drug overdose for musicians. Generations later, we still see artists dying from overdose or accidental overdose of drugs.
The issue of drugs being in music truly originated with mental illness and depression that get overlooked from the flashing lights, screaming fans, flashy jewelry and cars, and the glamorous lifestyle.
As a community, as generation, we need to show more awareness to people struggling with mental illness and depression. It’s not just the fans that are using music to cope with the stresses of life.
