Dolla - Role Model

Rapper Dolla’s killer was recently acquitted of murder charges. I was not a fan of his music, and I thought that he would fade into "one hit wonder' oblivion like many of the other artist that used the T-Pain autotune chorus in 2008. I recently saw a post on 2dopeboys that featured an unrelased song that DJ Shabazz (Dolla’s friend/DJ) decided to release that goes against the negative lyrics that Deputy District Attorney Bobby Grace says the jury may have been influenced by in their decision.

I think that we become to engulfed in the idea that rap music is 100% reality that we forget that much of it is hyperbole and that it has become a business. Many of the men and women who are rappers and depict this hyper masculine lifestyle AREN'T INVOLVED IN MANY OF THE STORIES THEY DEPICT. Its the same argument we heard when rappers Tupac Shakur and Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." died. This same argument of "well their music was violent, maybe they deserve negative treatment" is ludicrous and negates artistic freedom as well as the personal protections that are supposedly granted to all citizens. I think that regardless of where you stand on the "life imitating art/art imitating life" debate, you can agree that those who are murdered deserve to have their killers brought to justice regardless of what their profession, beliefs, or background may be. To suggest that Dolla's music (or even appearance, because I've met college graduates with multiple tattoos) makes his murder acceptable or  expected is saddening and shows that their is a double standard for the lives of Black men in America.