By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
Sincere Jazmin was only 16 years old when he was shot and killed by another teen at a bus stop in Queens, N.Y. on March 26.
The young man was an aspiring rap artist who went by the name, “Sdot Blokka.” His style of choice was drill rap, a subgenre of hip-hop known for dark, aggressive beats and lyrics that depict violence, gang activity and street life.
True to form in the drill rap community, immediately after his murder, videos from other local drill rappers began to appear. But these weren’t memorial videos. Instead, drill rappers who counted themselves as Sdot Blokka’s “opps,” a term used for rappers who see each other as the “opposition,” took to the internet to openly celebrate and mock the teen’s death.
Miguel Jazmin, Sincere Jazmin’s father, used his Facebook account to express his distress.
“I don’t wish this on anybody. Our kids are supposed to be our future. My soul is everywhere,” said the grieving father, in a video posted to the platform. “My son was only 16 years old. Yeah, he might have been doing drill music and so forth, but he was a good boy.”
A spokesperson for the New York Police Department told the AFRO there were no updates in the teenager’s case. The investigation is ongoing.
Sincere Jazmin is not the first drill rapper to succumb to gun violence. In recent years, dozens of drill rappers have lost their lives due to “rap beefs,” or public feuds between hip-hop artists that are often expressed through diss tracks, social media posts and, at times, face-to-face confrontations.
They can be sparked through personal disputes, perceived disrespect or even regional rivalries, whether in recording studios or on the streets of urban communities across the country. Though some remain verbal and artistic – like the discord between Kendrick Lamar and Drake – others result in gun violence and fatalities.
In Philadelphia, 17-year-old Noah Scurry was shot to death outside of his home on Jan. 14 just 24 hours after joining the drill rap scene under the name, Joker Otv. The day before his death, he uploaded his first music video, “SWING MY DOOR,” to YouTube. The song depicted tales of killing with lyrics like, “You gotta catch a body to gang with us.”
In Chicago, three drill rappers died after being shot in the summer of 2024 alone: YBC Dul, LilScoom89 and Bloodhound Lil Jeff. The trio collaborated on a song, released in July 2024, titled “LongLiveJeffreyDahmer” after the infamous serial killer. In one line of the track, the rappers say they are “in love with killin.’”
As retaliation for Bloodhound Lil Jeff’s death, another artist, known as “Trap City Vell,” was killed in October 2024. He had publicly celebrated Bloodhound Lil Jeff’s death and paid for it with his life—but the chaos didn’t stop there. Trap City Vell’s sister, Rhomesha Turner, was shot and killed while attending her brother’s funeral.
Locally, in August 2024, 16-year-old Kaeden Holland, known by his rap name “Baby K,” was sentenced to 25 years in prison after trying to kill a 14-year-old boy on a Prince George’s County, Md. school bus in 2023. Holland and two other masked teens attempted to shoot the boy, but they were unsuccessful, prompting them to brutally beat him.
Days after the attack, a song called “LLM” was posted to his Apple Music account. The track’s lyrics included, “I’m never gon’ stop, they stormin’ outside, put a switch on my Glock,” and “We stand on the gang, we don’t shoot from afar.”
“When you listen to the lyrics in drill rap music, there is a strong presumption that the songs are being used to incite violence and take credit for violent acts, oftentimes between neighborhood crews,” said Aisha Braveboy, state’s attorney for Prince George’s County. “That is dangerous. In many instances, it is terrorizing communities. People are losing their lives and individuals engaging in the violence are going to prison.”
According to The Music Origins Project, drill music originated in the South Side of Chicago during the early 2010s. When a person “drills” someone, it means they shot them with an automatic weapon.
And while many say songs are created with figurative language, drill lyrics all too often reference real-life conflicts and crimes.
Braveboy said her office has even used drill music as evidence in the cases they prosecute.
“It’s important for individuals to remember that life isn’t a rap video, and actions have consequences,” said Braveboy. “What we want people creating this music to do is redirect their words and messaging in a positive way that creates a better community, rather than causing the hurt and pain that results from the violence.”
The death toll of surrounding drill rap has led some to ask whether the music solely reflects the harsh realities of urban life— or reinforces the violence it describes.
Australian researcher Merrick Powell has conducted multiple studies on the impacts of violent music, examining its influence on people’s psychological well-being. He said a song’s tempo or sound can affect a person’s emotions. Music can also connect people to specific times, places and memories in their lives.
His doctoral thesis examined how listening to violent music can impact people’s behaviors, emotions and mental state. Though he said research from two decades ago suggested that listening to violently-themed music could make people more likely to have aggressive thoughts, his study concluded otherwise.
“When we recruited fans of heavy metal or rap music—drill, ‘90s gangster rap—we found that they had really positive experiences listening to the music and reported very low levels of anger and tension,” said Powell. “It really depends on the type of person and their relationship with the music, rather than just the content of the music itself.”
There are populations of people who are more vulnerable to the negative effects of violent music, though. Powell said they include people experiencing depression or depressive symptoms and people with obsessive passion, which occurs when a person entangles too much of their identity with a given activity. In drill rap’s case, this can lead to a toxic relationship with the music, leading them to feel worse after listening to it.
As teenagers often grapple with their identities, they may also be at greater risk of having negative experiences as a result of drill rap’s violent themes.
“It is possible that teenagers might be experiencing more issues with finding themselves and their identity, and we know that young people are often more vulnerable to depression,” said Powell. “They may be at a greater risk of having an unhealthy relationship with music.”
Amid concerns over the violence associated with drill rap, some community advocates are pushing for more positive forms of rap that aim to uplift communities rather than glorify or incite bloodshed. One example is Sajda “Purple” Blackwell, founder of Blackwell Culture Alliance.
Established in 2018, the Philadelphia organization works to counteract gun violence through music advocacy. It provides a safe, creative outlet for young people in the city.
“We wanted to make sure that there was a lane for what was being called, ‘conscious rap,’” said Blackwell. “We took on a responsibility at Blackwell Cultural Alliance to particularly help young artists bring in a positive lineage of music.”
The nonprofit regularly hosts open mic nights against gun violence called, “How Dope Are You?” During the event, aspiring artists compete for cash prizes, but their songs cannot celebrate gun violence or use the N-word.
They created the competition after seeing the rise in drill rap and other violent music.
“We began to see that the popular thing to do was to talk about who you’re ‘murking’ or ‘offing’ next,” said Blackwell. “We felt that it was problematic. With ‘How Dope Are You,’ our goal was not to get rid of drill or trap music, but to make a lane for music that’s fun, loving, exciting and talks about solutions.”
Blackwell believes the contest is helping to show young people that positive rap can be just as respected and culturally relevant as harder, more violent tracks.
“We are creating a wave of positive music on purpose,” said Blackwell. “It’s contagious.”
