Gang in East Dulwich

[DJKillaQueen]

Giggs may be a sucessful musician but his music is rubbish and way over-rated.. He's not even close to the best hip hop and rap artists at the moment. His latest mixtape is free to download for a reason. Compare that to the latest mixtape from Manchester based RIO and Stylus (who write about the same stuff as Giggs). You can soon see who have the talent and it's not Giggs.

[thomastillingthe3rd]

Stick to Queen..killa.

[Horsebox]

KillaQ, which part of which track is anti-white racist?

I didn't notice anything in particular.

I agree about Giggs. I really couldn't understand why XL signed him, when you compare to their latest signing, Tyler.

[Huguenot]

They'd probably be pretty pissed off about it, but they looked pretty inoffensive to me.

I'm sure they could get wound up as a gang, as any group of lads could, but they weren't behaving in an overtly aggressive manner. Even the trigger-finger pose was gentle.

They probably egg each other on to do daft things, but then so did I when I was a kid. I'd just try and make sure they didn't have access to lethal weapons when they did it.

Nice technical work, demonstrating a bit of effort and application.

Not sure there's any threat to society here.

[LadyDeliah]

I don't know a lot about hiphop but I thought that Giggs seems like an intelligent guy in that clip and his music sounded quite good. The Dulwich guys sound pretty good too. At least they are trying to do something positive about their lives even if their lyrics are a bit hyped up.

[DJKillaQueen]

Try this line Horsebox!

'When I see a light skinned face I'm gonna break that'

His heart is the right place LD buts Giggs album is musically boring. His follow up mixtape is even more musically boring.

[thomastillingthe3rd]

"Can we organise the Dulwich White Middle Class Gang? Armed to the teeth with rolled-up copies of the Guardian." -loz

You probably can Loz as obviously in your world their ain't no black middle class. Dork.

[Jeremy]

thomastillingthe3rd Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Actually they are just trying to emulate someone

> they see as a very successful business man

What business is he involved with?

[DJKillaQueen]

The thing about good hip hop artists is that they write about stuff that is real. Most of the pre 90's rap coming out of detroit, chicago, new york and LA emerged from those growing up in neighbourhoods where decent healthcare, education, housing etc wasn't available to them. Where the Police daily harassed the occupants of those neighbourhoods with little care for the rights of those people and where drugs and violent crime were the only option it seemed to many young men there.

Even post 80's, when Eminem wrote about 8 mile he was writing about the place he grew up in.

The problem with a lot of these kids today is that they are emulating not creating. They have plenty of opportunity to stay away from drugs and crime. They are not deprived of good health care or education. In turn what they rap about is the kind of fantasy that many with low self-esteem seem to rap about....how tough they are, and how much crime they can do, and how far they'll go to bully you into having repsect for their talentless little asses. None of them are JayZ, Dizzee Rascal or Plan B and never will be.

[StraferJack]

did you write that knowingly?

[DJKillaQueen]

Yes.

[Otta]

FFS, they're a bunch of kids making some music. I was in a rock band as a teenager, but I wouldn't have expected to be compared to Nirvana. You do talk some rot DJ.

[Jeremy]

Otta Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I was in a rock band as a teenager

So was I... and I still am! We don't have many songs about lack of decent healthcare though.

[DJKillaQueen]

And you Otta have no idea what you are taking about either. How many members of So Solid Crew ended up in prison for example???? Sure some kids are just making music, others though are making music as an extension to their so called 'gang lifestyle'. And anyway......I think any kid that thinks there any merit in making music about killing and robbing people needs their head testing.

[ultraburner]

Dj sums it up well I think Otta.

Most hip hop these days IS this type of bully-boy drivel, and its made by kids who aspire to the "thug life" idea that 50 cent sold them.

If you actually understand the lyrics, I dont see how you can say this is just kids having fun.

[DJKillaQueen]

Exactly right Ultraburner.

[Otta]

I agree that it's drivel, but I don't think it's a given that they'll all go on to gun crime. They're teenage boys trying to be hard, it's nothing new. But of course I have no idea what I'm talking about, so I'll bow to your superior knowledge.

[StraferJack]

Nope - i still can't get past

"The problem with a lot of these kids today".

It's too good.

Of course lyrics have always been problematic. When Elvis sang jailhouse rock, and the line

"Number 47 said to Number 3

you're the cutest jailbird I ever did see"

Where was the condemnation of prison rape???

context people, context

[*Bob*]

StraferJack Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Nope - i still can't get past

>

> "The problem with a lot of these kids today".

Be fair - this line has since been backdated to reflect the knowing, irony-laden cool that was absolutely definitely originally intended.. yes, honestly it was.. no really.

[DJKillaQueen]

Oh C'mon Elvis is not comparable to ganster rap. You are right Otto, many of these kids are rapping about something they'll never do but how sad that they only way they think they can look tough is by singing about killing and bullying people.

There are though several real teenage gangs, who are involved with crime, that are making this kind of music too. Social media has made it possible for these gangs to be organised and recruit through fear. It's a layer that many adults don't see but if you are a teenager in many parts of South London (and elsewhere) you will be fully aware of who the local organised gang (or group of bullies as I prefer to call them) are. You will also be aeware that they'll steal your phone and will probably be carrying knives. And yes there have always been bullies and teenage theives but not on the level there are today, nor in the level of violence they are prepared to use. And some will grow out of it and others won't.

[DJKillaQueen]

The problem with a lot of these kids today making this kind of music.....does that help? Because I really can't understand what on earth the issue is with that statement. But then hey, we only run youth clubs and programmes through my TRA and work with the Police and youth services to do what we can to keep kids away from crime and carrying knives (and not always successfully because half of them are on probation) so what do I know about those kinds of young people?

[StraferJack]

"Oh C'mon Elvis is not comparable to ganster rap."

tell that to prisoner #3!

Bugger, there goes my Johnny Cash records too. Shooting a man in Reno.. not because he HAD to, the self-defence option, but because JC just wanted to see him die

Bloody irresponsible if you ask me

But think about - DJKQ has a clue in her own name, or does Killa mean something else?

i don't think any of us need lectures about gang culture in SE London. We can see the evidence daily. But pointing at lyrics in songs as a sign of delinquency is as old as the hills. Footloose was a parable you know...

[StraferJack]

and the problem with the phrase "the problem with a lot of these kids today" is

it's SUCH a cliche!

Insight rarely follows in it's wake

[mockney piers]

Don't worry otta, you're not mad, just the vocal exception to the silent majority thinking 'what a load of pish and tosh'.

[DJKillaQueen]

I have plenty of insight actually so maybe that's the problem. I prefer though not to resort to semantics when I haven't got anything of substance to say about the real point of the debate.