Articles

Death epitomizes thug life

Opinion by Cynthia Tucker
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
May 10, 2006

You know I like to dedicate this song
to anybody who ever lost somebody
to the grave, to the streets, to the jail cell
I done been in situations where I done had to cope with all three
I feel like the only thing [I] haven't done [is] die

-"Live in the Sky," T.I., with Jamie Foxx

It may be comforting to think that the violent lyrics of rap music are just the overly dramatic musings of creative, if rebellious, young minds. It's just words, isn't it?

Think again. In the last 12 months alone, several young black men linked to rap music have been killed in disputes stoked by a code of conduct that finds respect in retribution and mistakes slaughter for strength.

The deaths have received at least cursory news coverage, a tribute to the celebrity status of most of the subjects. But there have been no sharp denunciations of the violence from the black institutions that matter, no groundswell of anger or disgust on black college campuses, no marches or demonstrations led by self-appointed black leaders.

Had just one of these young men been killed by white police officers, the machinery of black protest would have revved into high gear, with press conferences, marches and demands for justice. The relatively muted response to the string of dead rappers - the suspected perpetrators are mostly other young black men - suggests that a dead black man matters most when his murder can be used as political propaganda.

On Monday, more than 900 mourners attended the funeral of Atlantan Philant Johnson, 26, best friend and personal assistant to 26-year-old Atlanta rapper T.I. (Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.).

Johnson was killed and three other passengers injured a week ago in a gun battle that erupted when they were followed by two other vehicles on 1-75 near Cincinnati. Police say the gunfire followed an earlier argument involving unidentified locals and T.I.'s entourage at a Cincinnati nightclub.

A couple of days earlier, Houston rapper Big Hawk was gunned down in his hometown. (His brother, rapper Fat Pat, was shot dead in 1998.) And on April 11, Detroit rapper Proof, a close friend of megastar Eminem, was killed after he allegedly pistol-whipped and shot another man - Keith Bender, who also died - in an argument over a game of pool.

Those deaths followed a February shooting in New York that took the life of a bodyguard for rap star Busta Rhymes and a two-month killing spree in Las Vegas last year that left four rappers dead. On Feb. 1, a Las Vegas police officer was shot and killed by aspiring rapper Amir Crump, who was also killed in the shootout with police.

No arrests have been made in Johnson's death, nor in several of the other cases. Indeed, if history is any guide, many of the cases won't be solved. Boston Globe writer Renee Graham pointed out last year that the 1997 drive-by shooting of megastar Biggie Smalls, also known as the Notorious B.I.G., in Los Angeles, and the 1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur, in Las Vegas, remain unsolved, as does the 2002 slaying of Jam Master Jay in New York.

As Graham notes, rap culture disrespects those who cooperate with police, so law enforcement authorities have been unsuccessful in their efforts to uncover evidence that would stand up in court. (Rap artist Li'l Kim is serving a year in prison on a perjury charge, stemming from her lies about a shootout involving her entourage and another rap crew.) If the friends and associates of the slain rappers don't care enough to help police find their killers, there is little hope for eventual justice. Besides, too many rappers, several of whom have criminal pasts, believe that violence only pumps up their street "cred" (credibility) and fuels their popularity.

At least the dead rappers get a big funeral and their heirs profit from increased sales. Millions of young black men across the country adopt them as role models and emulate their behavior. Some of them will die, too, but their deaths will be noted only by family and friends. It's no wonder that homicide remains a leading cause of death for young black men.

Despite the unfortunate appeal of thug culture, a few brave souls have tried to curb the carnage. At Proof's funeral, Detroit rapper Obie Trice - who was left with a bullet lodged in his skull after he was shot on New Year's Eve - urged the mourners, through tears, to lay down their guns, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"I want to talk to the black men in here that's coming up in the hood, coming up in the struggle. We're killing each other, dawg. And it's about nothing. Nothing. Nothing. We're all dying. And we're leaving our kids. Our mommas. Our grandmas. Over nothing," he said.

In an interview with Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Sonia Murray, T.I., who has his own history of scrapes with the law, expressed his profound sorrow at the death of his longtime friend. "I'm not ever going to be the same," he said.

Neither will countless families whose young men are claimed by the curious and perverted appeal of thug culture.

Cynthia Tucker is the editorial page editor. Her column appears Wednesdays and Sundays.

Copyright 2006. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. More information: www.ajc.com.

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