The tragic death of rapper Juice WRLD has caused many artists in hip hop to come forward and speak about rap's connection to drug culture. While some artists have openly stated that the unexpected death of the 21-year-old rapper influenced their decision to stop using certain substances, others have decided to cease writing lyrics that glorify drug use. It's obvious that Juice WRLD's fatal seizure has shaken hip hop to its core even though a thorough report on his cause of death has yet to be revealed.
A TMZ cameraman rn into Vic Mensa outside of a Los Angeles restaurant and asked him about his thoughts on the subject. "I think that as members of the hip hop community, we need to take responsibility for the things that we say," Vic stated. "We need to recognize that the sh*t that we talk about influences children. So, when we steady pushing a message of lean and Percocets and Xans we are polluting the minds of the youth. We have a responsibility to give it to 'em in a real way, not to say you can't talk about your real life and the things that are happening but I think that we need to start holding each other and ourselves accountable for our glorification of the drug culture. One hundred percent. That's just what it is. Anything else, that's parasitic to our people to just act like this is the sh*t to be on lean all the time."
Vic admitted that Juice WRLD's death has caused him to reevaluate his own lyrics. "In younger times, I definitely did not feel no responsibility to the youth or to anybody but myself," he said. "[I thought] I'mma just talk about the Xans on the plane goin' to France, but it's like, you gotta be careful about what you say because kids take what you say for real. They take it as the gospel. So, give 'em something they can use, not sh*t that's killing them. And when we see these things happening to the young brothas, rest in peace Juice, too early, 21...and rap is much to blame for it."
After going through "drug addiction in a major way," Vic said he feels blessed to be alive, especially knowing that he's come close to losing his life. Watch his clip with TMZ below.