New Orleans having America's highest murder rate in 2022 makes veteran NOLA rapper/activist Dee-1 sick to his stomach, and it's also why he's taking issue with Fat Joe's recent remarks about robberies.
TMZ Hip Hop linked with Dee-1 following the new report about murders rising 46% in NOLA since last year. The city is close to passing the 2021 total of 221 slayings, and it's only September.
Dee -- who's currently at Harvard University -- says it doesn't take a 4.0 student to see hip hop has been amplifying street activity across the board, and Joe Crack's street-influenced commentary following PnB Rock's murder has him extremely frustrated.
Fat Joe Tells Charlamagne Tha God Rappers Are Endangered Species
Joe recently appeared on Charlamagne's "Hell Of A Week" and said he's fine with someone robbing PnB, but not the murder -- but Dee says that mentality ignores the root problem.
Dee says Joe and other OG's should know better and thinks artists have been hiding behind the "freedom of speech" rights for too long ... highlighting bad stuff to sound good.
A lot of people blame the pandemic for rising crime, but the pandemic is over and high rates of crime remain. It’s obvious that the cause is the delegitimization and demoralization of police and the resulting emboldening of criminals.https://t.co/uImpWSXjfO
— Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) September 17, 2022
As for his hometown, he says too many in NOLA were competing to have the hardest 'hoods in America, and tragically they've succeeded.
Dee is at Harvard via the hip hop fellowship Nas started years ago, and as part of his studies, he's examining hip hop culture at its core ... in addition to its influence on the youth.
Lesson #1: No robberies.