With face tattoos, punk-inspired productions and anime visuals behind him, he fit right in with the wave of young rap acts pushing the genre into volatile, thrilling new directions. “Pop Smoke was the same age as me and he was shot just because he was getting money,” the 20-year-old said. Over the weekend, at the Regent show and along the streetwear nexus of Fairfax Avenue, young rap fans were both mourning those deaths and slowly getting numb to them. “If you listen to Pop Smoke or Juice Wrld, they rapped about real struggles,” Wood added. For young audiences to absorb so much imagery of drugs, violence and depression, “it’s affecting all their fans.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 23, 2020 20:42 UTC