RZA On Rap Murders: “Hip-Hop Has Become One Sided”

In a recent interview, Wu-Tang Clan legend RZA shared his thoughts on the pattern of murders in hip-hop and how it has also impacted the music scene. It’s no secret that the number of killings in hip-hop has trended upward in recent years.

RZA On Murders In The Scene

“Growing up in the golden age of hip-hop, we lost maybe like a couple of artists. Not a dozen artists or more,” RZA said. “Sometimes hip-hop music glamorizes certain things. It glamorizes prison life, it glamorizes gangsters and thugs. I understand that because I grew out of that. But it doesn’t give you the total tragedy of what that can end up being, nor are we with a lot of alternatives. The point being made is there was more bounce, there was more substance. Hip-hop has become one-sided.”

RZA. Image source: Shutterstock.

The August double murder hit close to RZA and the Wu-Tang family. The former affiliates and members of the group Brooklyn Zu- 12 O’Clock and Murdock died in the shooting. The shooting took place in Northeast Portland around 5:19 a.m. local time.

The Impact Of Murders On The Hip-Hop Scene

Though hip-hop has endured its share of murders over the decades, the frequency of killings has gone up in recent years. In the last year, at least 20 rappers died as thee result of gun violence.

Some of the artists lost were nationally celebrated talents such as Young Dolph, who was slain in his hometown of Memphis last November. Others were simply hometown heroes whose lives cut short before fully realizing their potential.

The number of rappers who have lost their lives to gun violence in the last year is nothing short of deplorable. For the sake of the hip-hop community, there needs to be a better way for these artists to settle disagreements. At the end of the day, each life lost is somebody’s child, parent, or friend.

Written by Olan Bryant