Filming Dead Rappers and Posting the Videos Has to Stop
Videos and photos showing deceased rappers that spread across the internet mere moments after they’ve been murdered have become an incredibly disturbing byproduct of the internet age. The tragic deaths of artists like XXXTentacion, PnB Rock and, most recently, Philadelphia rapper Phat Geez have created some of the most graphic viral moments hip-hop has ever seen. This type of imagery being shared countless times across social media shines a light on the growing insensitivity that people have toward dead, especially murdered rappers in hip-hop. Filming dead rappers and sharing the videos has to stop.
Some People Will Do Anything for Clout
In previous eras, photojournalists felt a certain sense of responsibility to the public to document high-profile figures, much like when President John F. Kennedy Jr. was assassinated in 1963. That moment was very different considering he was already being filmed during his motorcade in Dallas when the shooting occurred. However, in the modern age, specifically in the hip-hop world, that journalistic approach has seemingly all but vanished in exchange for those seeking clout and clicks.
Videos and Photos of Murdered Rappers Have Been Shared Across Social Media
Within minutes of XXXTentacion being shot and killed on June 18, 2018, outside of RIVA Motorsports in Deerfield Beach, Fla., brazen bystanders casually walked up to the rapper’s car and instead of offering any sort of assistance, they began filming the rapper’s dead body. Countless videos of the late XXX bleeding from gunshot wounds while still in his car where the shooting took place circulated around X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram without many users so much as batting an eye.
Late Dallas rapper MO3 was murdered in broad daylight in Nov. 11, 2020 in what police called a “brazen” attack. Someone took it upon themself to hop out of their car on Interstate 35E immediately following the shooting just to capture the entire scene on camera before posting it to Instagram with the caption, “Stay safe.” MO3’s lifeless body is shown lying on the pavement while emergency medical staff perform CPR.
Similarly, on Sept. 12, 2022, when PnB Rock was gunned down in Los Angeles during a robbery gone wrong the news was actually first exposed to the public due to horrific video footage directly from the crime scene that surfaced online. In the video that was shared far too many times, Rock appeared lying in a pool of blood. Witnesses to the shooting are seen wrapping PnB’s wounds with towels except, of course, the desensitized person holding the camera who then added to the disrespect by uploading it to social media platforms.
In the aftermath of the shooting death of Philadelphia rapper Phat Geez, who was killed this past Sunday (March 17), home security cam footage that captured Geez being shot multiple times by someone within a car began spreading like wildfire online, seemingly all for the sake of users going viral. Meek Mill mourned the death of Phat Geez and called out the violence in his hometown of Philly.
Read More: XXXTentacion Shot in Florida
People Who Share Imagery of Murdered Rappers Have Been Called Out for Their Actions
As more people continue to share photos and videos of rappers during their final moments of life, plenty of critics in the hip-hop space are calling them out. The apparent indifference and disregard for human lives simply because a person has a successful rap career is appalling. In November of 2022, as photos and video clips began to circulate just hours after the senseless killing of late Migos member Takeoff, Gillie Da Kid called out the people who, in his opinion, were looking to capitalize on the tragedy. Gillie took heavy exception to a video that saw a bleeding Takeoff on the ground as his loving uncle Quavo crouched over him amid the melee, which had been shared across social media.
“Why every time something happen to a rapper or an athlete or an entertainer or anybody of color, the first thing you n***as do is pull your f**kin’ phones out and start recording, and post that s**t on the internet, man?” Gillie Da Kid screamed in a scathing rant on Instagram shortly after Takeoff died. “You n***as is clowns for that s**t, man. The last image a muthaf**ka want to see is they peoples laying on the ground bleeding the f**k out.”
Gillie passionately added: “N***as be having mamas, kids, grandmamas, uncles, aunties, that’s some dumb s**t. But the first thing y’all n***as do is pull y’all phone out. ‘Oh, look at such and such.’ That s**t ain’t cool, man. That n***a just lost his life and you n***as is tryin’ to get likes. Tell me how that s**t add up?”
Read More: The Current Status of Every Murdered Rapper’s Case
The Million Dollaz Worth of Game rapper-turned-podcaster brings up an excellent question: Why do so many people instinctively reach for their phones to film and subsequently post such grisly, heinous moments of a person’s last breath? Regardless of the rationale, the practice should only be examined as a lack of respect and complete insensitivity.