NYPD detectives are saying that the spike of gun violence in the city can be traced to the new genre in rap music called drill. Some investigators have connected drill music and the Big Apple’s uptick in gang violence.
Others are clear that there is a difference between being the source of the violence and expressing it.
NYPD Deputy Chief Joseph Gulotta, commanding officer of detectives in Brooklyn South, told the New York Daily News, “The music definitely inflames the situation. But these are gang shootings.”
“I think sometimes rap and the lyrics ignite, cause some issues. But I don’t think that’s the underlying motive at the end of the day,” he continued.
Over the last week, “issues” around the rap music and gang affiliation “ignited,” with the shootings of Nas Blixky and Tdott Woo, a young rapper affiliated with Pop Smoke and Fivio Foreign.
Rapper Nas Blixky, as reported by AllHipHop.com, was down with another rapper named Nick Blixky, who was murdered in May 2020, and Lu Blixky, who was killed in Brooklyn, in October 2020.
Nas Blixky, who is said to be a member of one of the Blood sects within the Cho Gang in Brooklyn, was shot on January 27th, but survived outside a deli on Rogers Ave. in Prospect Lefferts Gardens and gunned down as he ran for his life.
The Blixky’s family linked the violence to the music and the trash-talking within the bars. They also said that he was going to reinvent himself as an artist.
“Many people want him dead,” Nas’ stepfather said to the Daily News. “I told him he’s better than that. You want him dead? He’s [the old Nas Blixky] dead. He’ll be back with better music and better lyrics.”
A few days later, Tdott Woo met his fatal demise on February 1st, after also being shot in the head. Officials note that he was affiliated with the G Stone Crips, a Canarsie-based crew, but he is also accredited with creating the Woo Walker dance— connected with that larger collective.
On January 18th, drill rapper C Blu was accused of shooting an NYPD police officer over a stolen gun in the Bronx. He, an alleged member of the Reyway crew, a subset of the Crips, has been charged with weapon possession, assault, and other gun charges and was freed on $200,000 bail.
C Blu is close friends with Kay Flock, a teen rapper currently facing murder charges for shooting a man outside a Manhattan barbershop in December.
“These are ongoing gang disputes in the same geographical area,” Gulotta said. “Can they be connected? They sure could. These are longstanding beefs between these groups, and they’re right there on top of each other.”
Arrests for Nas Blixky shooting and Tdott’s death have not been made as of publishing.
