Chuck D is speaking out against gun violence in the wake of Takeoff being shot and killed in Houston on Tuesday. The Migos rapper was 28 years old.
Addressing the fatal shooting with TMZ, Chuck D said that the issue of gun violence has been going on in the U.S. for “far too long,” and that it has become "normalized."
“It’s not normal behavior, it’s just not normal and what the circumstances in the United States of America is just dealing with abnormal situations that people think, you know, through culture, it’s been normalized over the years,” he explained.
Chuck D continued: “It is a tragedy, and the pain is unbearable…The peace, unity, love aspect of Hip-Hop should be revered.”
From there, the Public Enemy rapper labeled it a "tragedy" that young people have grown up with so much death in the hip-hop community.
“It’s a tragedy and I think that in any other walk of life it would have been addressed far earlier on how to prevent this before it became a thing that people thought is normal,” Chuck D said. “You have people who’ve grown up thinking that hip-hop death is a normal thing.”
Takeoff was killed after an altercation broke out over a dice game at a private party at 810 Billiards & Bowling in Houston. Takeoff's uncle and fellow Migos member, Quavo, was present at the time but was left unharmed.
No suspects have been arrested as of now. Chief Troy Finner of the Houston Police Department says that they have no reason to believe that Takeoff was committing any criminal activity when he was killed.
“Sometimes the hip-hop community gets a bad name,” Chief Finner said at a news conference. “I’m calling up on everybody — our hip-hop artists in Houston and around the nation — we’ve got to police ourselves. There are so many talented individuals, men and women, in that community, who again I love and I respect, and we all need to stand together and make sure no one tears down that industry.”
Check out Chuck D's conversation with TMZ at the link below.
[Via]