Comment: Are drill rappers putting themselves at risk through their music?

Sidique Kamara, a drill rapper from South London, is the latest influential victim of knife crime.

The 23-year-old died after being stabbed twice in the chest in Camberwell on August 1. He was also known by the name Incognito and SK, from drill group Moscow17.

Seventeen-year-old Rhyhiem Barton, who was also a drill rapper part of Moscow17 and went by the name GB, was shot and killed on May 5 this year.

Drill rap, a genre that has only reached the spotlight nationally in the past decade, glamourises violence through its lyrics.

For example, ‘We step we get a boy chopped’, is a lyric in their song called Stevie Wonder, implying a threat to stab somebody.

In an interview earlier on in the year, Mr Kamara said: “You see with the crime that’s happening right now, music does influence it. You’ve got to put your hands up and say drill music does influence it.”

This has sparked a debate as to whether it is a coincidence that knife and gun crime has increasingly been directed at drill rappers or whether it has been because of lyrics they have used.

Moscow17’s music videos, where they appear in black masks, have been watched by hundreds and thousands on Pressplay Media, a popular YouTube channel with 238,000 subscribers.

So it is clear they have a large fanbase who enjoy their music, but like any other artist, experience hate, particularly by their rival group, Zone 2.

Through their raps, the two gangs are in constant competition.

In one track, Zone 2 threaten that they will ‘roll up and burst them’ in response to being mocked by Moscow17 who imply they are more successful, ‘check the scoreboard’.

Nowadays, music has a big impact to teenagers and younger adults’ lives, with many turning to music for lyrics that they can relate to.

However, in the UK, the audience is exposed to the rapidly increasing popularity of drill music which is presented as ‘trendy’ on large social media platforms.

For example, there are pages such as @imjustbait on Instagram that turn them in to memes, funny posts, that then go viral.