"DRILL MUSIC: FROM STREETS TO SPEAKERS - Addressing the glamorisation of violence"

Drill music, born in Chicago around 2010, was all about storytelling. The lyricists poured their everyday struggles into song, often rooted in the hardships that led to a life of crime. Chicago's gang history stretches back to the 1950s with groups like the Devil Disciples and the '60s saw the birth of the 'Black Disciples.' These gangs formed to protect their community and grew by merging with other groups, like when Larry Hoover of the Gangster Disciples united with David Barksdale of the Black Disciples to create the Black Gangster Disciple Nation.

Sadly, Larry Hoover's life sentence for murder and Barksdale's early death led to more violence on the streets of Chicago. While these gangs had existed for decades before Drill music rose to prominence, the genre gave gang members a platform to express themselves.

Across the pond in South London's Brixton, UK Drill emerged in 2012, adopting elements from Chicago's Drill and British road rap. UK Drill, especially the kind that hits the charts, often masks its content with metaphors, catchy beats, and degrading one-liners. Yet, if you listen closely and understand the street vernacular, you'll see that Drill ultimately glamourises violence, and insinuates with violence comes money, women, and status.

We acknowledge the struggles and disadvantages faced by black communities worldwide, leading to conflicts driven by money, respect, and fear. It's unfortunate that people living in dire circumstances turn on each other, often out of not knowing any difference or fear for their lives. Change and rehabilitation are desperately needed in these communities, building respectful, loving individuals begins at home, but we recognise that home can sometimes be the worst place on earth and the reason why we have a nation of broken and evil humans.

Banning Drill music won't erase the presence of evil, but why should evil have a platform? Free speech is important, as we understand the realities these individuals face but these words are turning into fatal actions.

A world where the value of human life is disregarded and played as if levels in Grand Theft Auto cannot be the world we want to live in.

Addressing these larger issues will require time and the collective effort of civilians to promote change and a better way of life. Self-reflection, love, and awareness can be the starting point for being light in the darkness but in the meantime, we should consider making the glamorisation of violence a non-negotiable stance.

Written by: Marina Townsend