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A Debate Over House And Drill Music In Hip-hop

The sound of hip-hop music is altering its course with both legendary stars Drake and Beyonce releasing house-inspired music albums. Earlier, there was prominent usage of sounds of drill in hip-hop music, but now house music has taken over. The emergence of drill-inspired rap occurred on streets of Chicago, London and Brooklyn around 2010. Drill music is synonymous with underground artists from economically underdeveloped communities . They always use coarse and hefty sounds to tell their burdensome life experiences. On the contrary, house music is often pleasing and light to listen and accepted in R&B and pop music since 1970s.

Chicago as Birthplace for Both House and Drill  

However, there is certain commonality between the two genres of music. Both genres advanced their roads from under privileged singers. They raised their voices against injustices meted towards them in their birth place, Chicago. Both styles of music could consume different variants of music and generate an entirely a new kind of music. In Past, popular artists such as Beyoncé, British rapper ArrDee, Fivio Foreign have maneuvered other tracks. Apart from that, both drill and house music are extremely popular and persistent in some parts of US like Chicago, New York and Europe.

Reappearance of House Music

In recent time, a major trend we can witness that mostly artists such as Rye Rye, Cookiee Kawaii, Azealia Banks employed house music in their styles and tasted success on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram. Reappearance of house music in hip-hop culture has become more apparent with megastars Drake and Beyonce attempted house music in their mainstream albums. Nevertheless, both cannot be termed as only flag-bearer of house inspired music in hip-hop. There are other previous generations of musicians and singers who worked tirelessly to promote house inspired music in mainstream genres be it hip-hop, R &B, pop music and others. Daft Punk, Alice Deejay, EDM, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Calvin Harris profoundly endorsed house sound in their albums.

Popularity of Drill Music

On the other hand, one cannot deny the popularity and prevalence of drill music in rap. Impoverished black communities of Chicago began to drill, a way of expressing their underlying tribulations and trajectories of life. Soon, drill sound transmitted its popularity throughout New York and parts of Europe such as London, Paris, Lisbon and so forth. According to sources, drill music endorsed people from streets and made them popular stars in music world. It is because this bottom up approach, the lives of gang stars, con artists and often anonymous people from streets became tale of rags-to-riches. It is often associated with violence and gang conflicts. On the contrary, house music has no such implications. As a  top-down music, it is frequently promoted by affluent class.

Finally, one cannot predict house music will rule over drill music. Both sounds are equally flourishing in the rap world.

 

Chayanika Deka

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Resurgence of 2Pac Generated Buzz

The resurgence of American rapper and actor Tupac Amaru Shakur, popularly known as 2Pac, generated buzz on the internet. Tupac’s death still haunts music and rap lovers across the world. His fans are still in disbelief of his death at such a young age. Recently, various images of 2Pac reappeared on Twitter and created conundrum in the hip-hop society.

2Pac’s Contemporary Images Shocked His Fans

On June 16, numerous images of 2Pac, bombarded Twitter, celebrating his birthday. However, various sources revealed the photos of 2Pac on Twitter looked truly contemporary. His fans started tweeting, pointing towards suspicion regarding controversy around his death. Pictures on Twitter already received 160,000 likes. One of his fans mentions, “ Tupac has too many fresh pictures. It’s starting to get suspicious.” Another fan writes, “Tupac was a famous rapper for like 4 years and he died 25 plus years ago but somehow they’re still releasing new pictures of him no one’s ever seen before, tell me how that’s possible if he’s not alive.” One fan says, “Somebody tell Tupac we know he was running away from Jada (Pinkett). We now understand, and he can come out. We need more good music”.

2Pac’s Controversial Death

At the age of 25, the rapper was shot dead in September 1996, in Las Vegas. Four bullets entered through his chest. Although he was taken to the hospital at University Medical Center, unfortunately, he later succumbed to his wounds. There are a number of conspiracy theories surrounding his tragic death. People across the rap world fabricate stories of him being alive. On October 2, 2018, Suge Knight’s son posted on Instagram with various feeds such as, “TUPAC IS ALIVE,” “TUPAC IS IN Malaysia,” and “The truth will be out and I’m not going anywhere.” Sources revealed 2Pac’s then bodyguard also claimed to have assisted the singer to fake his death and sending him to Cuba. The controversy around 2Pac’s death even inspired Rick Boss, a Los Angeles filmmaker to make a movie on 2Pac titled, 2Pac: The Great Escape From UMC. Later, fans found out that Ghanaian Twitter influencer Kalyjay, who enhanced all these images of 2Pac, using photo edit software, uploaded these pictures.


However, fans also wrote comments on 2Pac’s photos to honor his life. His albums such as 2Pacalypse Now, Me Against the World, and All Eyez on Me are all well-received by his fans.

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Drake’s Exclusive Response Over “Honestly, Nevermind”

With the release of his recent album “Honestly, Nevermind,” megastar Drake struck the right note with the audience of the pop industry. It is his seven solo studio album after the 2021 multi-platinum album “Certified Lover Boy.” However, despite initial positive feedback for his new album, it is also subjected to harsh reviews and memes.

Consequently, the Toronto-based rapper decided to make an innovative response to criticisms over his new album. He uploaded a video on social media and said, “It’s all good if you don’t get it yet. That’s what we do. We wait for you to catch up. We caught up already. On to the next.”

The Uniqueness Of “Honestly, Nevermind”

On June 10 at midnight, Drake came up with his new album “Honestly, Nevermind,” which displayed a unique style from his previous albums. The new album has 14 songs, consisting of more dance and music than rap. In the words of Drake, “I let my humbleness turn to numbness at times letting time go by knowing I got the endurance to catch it another time, I work with every breath in my body cause it’s the work, not air that makes me feel alive.”

The Exclusive Reply

Because of its distinctive feature, the album garnered both positive and negative feedback from fans. The album received a tremendous response and created history just after its release. According to various sources, the album has turned out to be Apple’s music biggest dance album. It also broke the first-day streams’ records worldwide. Previously, Drake also witnessed blockbuster successes with his other albums such as “Thank me later,” “Nothing was the same,” “Take Care,” “Views,” “More Life,” and “What a time to be alive” and so forth.

Drake, aka Aubrey Drake Graham, is always known for his sensitive and emotional expression toward his fans. Therefore, his recent response to some fans’ refutations of his new album is justified.

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Written by Chayanika Deka

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Lil Durk Asserts Himself As The Best Basketball Player Ever

American rapper Lil Durk is on cloud nine recently. All thanks to American professional basketball player LeBron Raymone James Sr. In one of the episodes of “The Shop: Uninterrupted” premiered on HBO in April 2022, NBA’s favorite player from Los Angeles Lakers termed Lil Durk as basketball Connoisseur amongst rappers in hip-hop industry.

LeBron Raymond asserted, “Lil Durk, he can hoop for real. Man, he lifetime hooping. He can hoop for real. Lil Durk, he’s got a fucking canon, too. He got a peel. And he look like a motherfucker that can.”

6 Takeaways From Drake and Lil Durk's New Song “Laugh Now Cry Later” |  Complex
Drake and Lil Durk: “Laugh Now Cry Later” video/YouTube

Lil Durk Challenged Drake

Lil Durk was swooned over LeBron admirations for him. He even challenged Grammy Award winning rap artist Drake who is known for his ardent love for basketball apart from music. Out of so much love for basketball, Drake founded his own league known as Sanctuary Basketball League. His own team NTIG already won every game in his league. Various sources mentioned nobody allowed to win in Drake house. Therefore, Lil Durke said, “ (Drake’s)my dog, but he ain’t gon’ play us though. (LeBron]) knows I’m the best ever. Tell your fucking children.”

Lil Durk Versus J.Cole

J.Cole's Basketball Career Fits Perfectly Into His Personal Mythology -  Rolling Stone
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

However, Lil Durk did not stop here. He also called out American hip-hop star and also a professional basketball player J. Cole. Cole played four games for Scarborough Shooting Stars of the Canadian Elite Basketball League in May 2022. Lil Durk said, “I know I can, I just told you that I’m the best ever,” he confidently stated. “(That’s) my boy, but I’d dunk that shit on (J. Cole).”

Lil Durk Well Played Professionally 

On the professional front, Lil Durke released his recent album “7220” in March. Singles from the album such as “Pissed Me Off”, “Golden Child”, “AHHH HA” became huge hits among his fans. On June 1, Durk announced “The 7220 Deluxe Tour” which would kick start in Oklahoma City in September.

 

Chayanika Deka

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A Quiet Birthday for DJ Mustard

DJ Mustard, a well-known American West-Coast hip-hop artist, rapper, songwriter and record producer, celebrated his 32nd birthday on Sunday, June 5. Mustard received birthday wishes from various artists and friends from the rap world such as Jay Z, Jay Brown, 2 Chainz, Moneybagg Yo, Don Toliver, Mozzy and Emory Vegas Jones.

A Peaceful Birthday For Mustard

DJ Mustard preferred to spend his birthday quietly this year. “Yall know that I usually do some extravagant stuff on my birthday but with everything going on this year I felt it would be more rewarding instead to spend time in the studio working on my album,” he said. Mustard shared his goal of being the best version of himself and releasing a complete project that he is truly proud of. “I’ve been pouring all of my energy into myself and music and it feels great.” 

“All in all I’m blessed, I’m alive and well and I’m excited to see what magic age 32 has in store for me. Much love, light and respect to everyone that reached out. Peace.”

Birthday Wish From Jay Z

 

However, he was delighted to get abundant birthday wishes and calls from his collaborators and friends in the music industry, particularly the legendary Brooklyn rapper with the most Grammys, Jay Z. Fortunately, he knew he wasn’t being messed with this time. 

In a 2014 interview on Big Boy’s Neighborhood, Mustard shared the story of when Jay Z first contacted him. During the phone call, Mustard still couldn’t believe it was him. “I’m like, ‘Hello?’ He like, ‘Yeah, this is Jay.’ I’m like, ‘No, it ain’t.’ Click,” Mustard said.

While celebrating his birthday, Mustard also regretted not announcing the name and the release date of his new album. “It’s simply not ready,” he said during an apology on Instagram. He continued to share that he is taking his time with the album to deliver the best possible product to his fans.

A Rocky Personal Front

Mustard is going through a troubled phase on the personal front. According to sources, he was divorcing his partner of ten years, Chanel Thierry, citing “irreconcilable differences.” The divorce proceedings started in early May this year. They have three children together and Mustard is asking for joint custody of them.

A Busy Year For DJ Mustard

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 16:  Performance by Rapper Vince Staples  (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)

On the other hand, he teamed up with Vince Staples, the Long Beach artist in the song Magic. Mustard is planning to start an innovative album. He will collaborate with key players like Roddy Ricch, Migos, YG, Nipsey Hussle and Future. This new album is an epilogue of his earlier hit, Perfect Ten. He also participated in projects like Kendrick Lamar’s Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers and Vince Staples’ Ramona Park Broke My Heart. The California-based record producer entered the hip-hop industry and tasted success by collaborating with Tyga’s record-breaking single, Rack City in 2011. Before the upcoming album, Mustard had three solo albums to his credit: 10 Summers (2014), Cold Summer (2016) and Perfect Ten (2019).

 

Chayanika Deka

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Jack Harlow’s Nomination in BET 2022 outraged Lil Nas X

American rapper from Kentucky Jack Harlow’s nomination as Best Male Hip-Hop artist alongside Drake, Kanye West, Lil Baby, J Cole, and Future for the 2022 BET Awards created quite a stir in the hip-hop industry. Montero Lamar Hill, popularly called Lil Nas X, singer and rapper from Georgia, tweeted on June 1, “thank you bet awards. an outstanding zero nominations again. black excellence!”. 

Harlow’s singles from the album “Montero,” such as “Call Me by Your Name” and “That’s What I Want,” topped the music chart and earned him five nominations at the 2022 Grammy Awards. So, Lil Nas X is flabbergasted with BET Awards nominations by not getting any spots.

Lil Nas X’s Alleged Comment On Jack Harlow As Not-talented

Jack Harlow’s Nomination in BET 2022 outraged Lil Nas X
Lil Nas X at BET Awards 2021. Image source: Getty Images.

The artist bombarded his Twitter account with a series of comments which he deleted later, “idk maybe 3 of the biggest songs of last year & a critically acclaimed album… i feel like that should’ve helped me a bit. What’s more even infuriating about this ordeal is that it postures Jack Harlow as a representation of Black culture. Why are untalented white artists constantly lauded in rap?” Meanwhile, in Lil Nas X’s chart-topping single “Industry Baby,” Jack Harlow appeared as a guest singer.

Jack Harlow’s Racial Identity Interfering With His Musical Career

Jack Harlow debuted in the rap world with “That’s What They All Say,” which sold unexpectedly high in 2020. His single “What’s Poppin” earned him the most sought-after hip-hop artist title, just like Lil Wayne, Big Sean, and other modern black singers or Grammy nominations. He also made the Number two position on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2020.

However, his racial identity interposed with his musical talents and so-called appeal in a Black dominated hip-hop culture. Sources said Harlow’s album, “Come Home the Kids Miss You,” faced severe criticisms. But it became Number 3 on the US Billboard 200.

Hip-hop As Forte Of Black Artists

Fans accused white singers of benefitting from promoting Black culture. Hip-hop is essentially a development of Black street artists. However, according to fans, hip-hop music always celebrated white mediocrity. In the 2014 Grammy Awards, the Best Rap Album went to “The Heist” by duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, even though their singles of the album were not outstanding.

Celebrating white musicians in the hip-hop genre had outraged many Black singers. They believe Rap music is the forte of Black artists. The space for white musicians in hip-hop and rap culture is still controversial.

BET Awards 2022 Celebrating Black Excellence

The BET Awards 2022, promoting Black excellence, will be held on June 26 in Los Angeles. The month of June is the appreciation month for African American music. BET Award celebrates black excellence in the entertainment, music, and sports industry. To Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy for BET, “For over two decades, the BET Awards has been home to Black brilliance, talent, and creativity, providing unforgettable cultural moments.

We look forward to raising the bar for BET Awards 2022.”

Written by Chayanika Deka

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All is well with Consequence, Drake and Noah “40” Shebib

Queens-born American rapper Dexter Raymond Mills, Jr., known as Consequence, acknowledged taking the antagonism between Drake and Kanye West too far. Addressing Drake and Noah “40” Shebib, he called that decision a mistake.

Consequence uploaded a post, “Petty Energy ain’t it for 2022.” Consequence captioned the screenshot, before later adding, “As an OG, I owe @champagnepapi an apology for letting the competition over the LP’s spiral out of control. Pardon me for whatever was said about you or your loved ones. Keep doing you bro…”

Exchange of Direct Messages between Consequence and Noah

On June 1, Consequence made DMs between himself and Noah “40” Shebib, OVO Sound Label producer public.

“Just wanted to tell you, cause I didn’t get the chance the other night, you’re for real one of my favorite rappers ever,” Noah’s message read. “Like for real. Just had to express that you and say thank you.”

Cons responded at the time: “My dawg. I fucks with y’all and I told Ye it’s great look to lock in with y’all. I def want to build with you and Drake.”

Kanya-Drake Antagonism

The Kanye-Drake conflict is one of the most controversial feuds in hip-hop industry. The open hostility between both world-famous, American, hip-hop artists can be traced back to 2007. West and Drake have been at loggerheads since then.

The controversy took an ugly turn in May 2018, when Pusha T. (the G.O.O.D. Music president) and executive producer Kanye West released studio album Daytona. In the last track of the album Infrared, Pusha T. selected Drake’s ghostwriting allegations about Kanye. Later, Drake backfired by suggesting he wrote Father Stretch my Hands and 30 Hours in Kanye West’s track The Life of Pablo. Pusha T. criticized Drake in The Story of Adidon, however, as he persistently kept the identity of his son hidden. Pusha T. even considered using this information in one of the Adidas campaigns.

The conflict re-emerged in 2021, ahead of the music album releases for Drake’s Certified Lover Boy and West’s Donda. Kanye confronted Drake in a group chat, and Drake responded by leaking Kanye’s collaboration with André 3000’s Life Of The Party— a previously unreleased song by West—in his radio station. Kanye reciprocated Drake’s attitude by posting his full address on Instagram but deleted the post after a short time. Amidst these struggles, Kanye released his tenth studio album Donda on August 29, and Drake released his sixth studio album Certified Lover Boy on September 3.

Consequence Criticized Drake

The conflict dragged other rappers, such as Andre 3000, Consequence and Pusha T., into the dispute. Consequence took the side of West, and in his track Party Time, he rapped lines like “Your parents out here like Sonya and Dell / And ever since Sophie had a story to tell/ You’ve been taking L’s and coming after K / And thought we couldn’t tell you were coming after K / But most crabs are a shell of their self.” Pusha T. was directing these lyrics towards Drake.

All Is Well With Consequence, Drake and Noah

In November 2021, both Drake and West are rumoured to have ended their feud. Kanya West posted a picture of himself, Drake and J. Prince in front of Drake’s mansion in Canada. Indeed, Consequence seems to want to make sure all is well with Drake and Noah “40” Shebib as he gears up for his new album, a follow-up of his 2016 A Good Comeback Story EP album.

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Lil Pump Goes Viral For His Generosity

The public persona of Miami rapper Gazzy Garcia, widely known as Lil Pump inspired fans and supporters across the world. His love and affection for children, and vulnerable and disabled communities earned him immense respect amongst fans. His new viral video on Instagram became an instant hit and accumulated million views. On May 29, Lil Pump posted a short video on Instagram where he interacted with a young fan.

“Gucci Gang” Rapper Gifted a Luxury Pair of Shoes to a Fan

 The “Gucci Gang” rapper generously gifted a luxury pair of shoes after losing a game of rock paper scissors.  In that video, a young kid challenged Lil Pump to play the game at a high-priced sneaker store. After a tie, Pump purposefully lost the game. He discarded the paper and was cut by the young boy’s scissor. He then invited the fan into the store and  the young kid chose black paisley Nike dunks. Pump acknowledged his choice and said, “You’re a smart kid. I got those same ones. We match.”

Lil Pump Encouraged a Fan On Wheelchair

This was not the only account of Lil Pump encouraging a fan. In the beginning of May, the Miami rapper asked a fan on a wheel chair  to come on stage as he performed at the Metro Festival in Montreal, Canada. The fan’s name was Woody Belfort and he joined Pump as he performed some incredible dance moves to his anthemic track, “D. Rose”.

Lil Pump Is Not Out Of Controversy

As we all know Lil Pump earned huge popularity with his 2017 release “Gucci Gang”. Other releases such as “D Rose”, “Boss”, “Be Like Me” attracted millions of views on YouTube. However, Lil Pump’s personal life is not apart from controversy. Reports suggested he is indebted approximately at $1.6 million in back taxes from 2018 and tax authorities is considering to seize his Miami mansion he acquired for US$4.6 million in 2019. In 2020, Lil Pump was in the limelight again as he refused to wear a mask on a JetBlue Airways flight during the Covid-19 pandemic. This led to his ban from the airline. 

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Chayanika Deka

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N.O.R.E.’s  Tweets as Talk Of The Town in Hip-Hop Society 

N.O.R.E.’s recent comments are the talk of the town. In particular, Hip-Hop society. The Breakfast Club, a radio show hosted by Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee, and DJ Envy, scrutinized N.O.R.E.’s Tweets.

DJ Envy said, “I do agree with what Noreaga was saying. I will say one thing about Cardi — Cardi does a lot of the things that a lot of artists won’t do. She goes to a lot of those places, so I doubt he was talking to Cardi.”

N.O.R.E. Disillusioned With Modern Rappers

Queen-born American Hip-Hop artist Noreaga, also known as N.O.R.E., was disillusioned with many modern rappers. He chose Twitter to express his agony on May 25, Wednesday. Miffed with various rap singers because they chose mainstream media to do interviews, N.O.R.E took to Twitter to display his dejection.

N.O.R.E. Is Not Happy With Cardi B

“I have been the best to this culture I have always put hiphop first,” N.O.R.E expressed. “I see u guys go to Ellen and David letterman’s and Zane lows and treat them wit more respect then the culture but u say u want black excellence.”

N.O.R.E. reportedly despised the recent episode of Cardi B with David Letterman on his latest Netflix series, “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.” Moreover, a week before, Sean Diddy Combs appeared on “The Ellen Degeneres Show.”

N.O.R.E On David Letterman, Ellen, and Oprah

However, N.O.R.E. clarified that his Twitter rant did not target Cardi B. or David Letterman as he loved both. “Love it wasn’t even talking or thinking bout cardi but love the article,” N.O.R.E stated. “David letterman is my favorite but man why go there or Ellen before million dollars worth of game or joe or the champs or even twitter s–t!!!”

He continued, “Imma be honest even going to Oprah or gal is trash at this point !!! We control our in culture why go outside of it!!!”

Hip-Hop Culture Driven by Individual Experience

N.O.R.E, along with DJ ENF, hosts one of the popular podcasts known as “Drink Champs.” They already interviewed artists and entertainers such as Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, Snoop Dogg, Remy Ma, and others who shared exciting events of their lives.

Hip-Hop or rap culture is always driven by individual personal experiences. Rap artists tend to share their life events straight from the heart in the form of songs and lyrics. As N.O.R.E said, “We control our culture; why go outside of it!!!”

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Written by Chayanika Deka

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BBC Revealed Harsh Reality of Uyghur

BBC recently leaked data and a long report with regard to harsh conditions of China’s highly secretive re-education/ detention camps in Xinjiang region. Sources mentioned Chinese government ambiguously detained Uyghur, a Turkish speaking ethnic and other ethnic Kazakhs and Uzbeks minority groups of Xinjiang in those camps in the name of culturally integrated them into China. However, the recent reveal of BBC showed a completely different picture.

Mass Imprisonment of Uyghurs


Hacked from police computer servers in the region, thousands of photographs of weeping detainees, spreadsheets and classified documents had been found. The collection stated mass imprisonment of Uyghurs as well as a shoot-to-kill policy for those who try to escape camps. Between 2017 and 2018, more than 20,000 Uyghurs from county, “Shufu” were imprisoned in camps. The youngest detainee was 15-year-old Rahile Omer, while the oldest was Anihan Hamil who was 73 years old.

 

Illogical Detention Charges


Charges for their detention were quite illogical such as growing beard, failing to recharge phones, travelling to a Muslim-majority country, non-drinker or non-smoker under influence of Islam, listening to banned lectures, picking quarrels, reading Islamic scriptures and going to mosques, giving birth to more than three children and exchanging texts of Quranic verses. According to various human rights groups, their only crime is practice of Islamic faith. Xinjiang, located in north-west of  China shares borders with countries like Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.  On account of these, the region has Muslim population. 

 

Chinese Official Viewed Uyghurs as Terrorist


After two terrorist attacks by Islamic extremist groups from Xinjiang in 2014, the Chinese government started viewing Uyghurs as holding separatist and extremist religious ideology and they launched crackdown of Uyghurs. In 2017, Chinese government started these camps calling as vocational training centres. Report suggested detainees had to prove their loyalty to Chinese Communist Party, giving up Islam religion along with learning Mandarin. They had to suffer various atrocities like sleep deprivation, torture, violence withing camps.

Human Rights Chief’s Official visit to China


Chinese government repeatedly refutes these allegations and continue to build these training centers. Nevertheless, an anonymous hacker downloaded documents from Chinese police servers and decrypted them. He handed this information to Dr. Adrian Zenz, A US based academician from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Dr. Adrian Zenz later shared these documents and photographs with pool of journalists including BBC. The BBC after month long endeavors of investigating and authenticating the data, published the full report on May 24. Following international pressure, Human Rights Chief, Michelle Bachelet, arrived in China for a three days visit.