“A Generation of Hate”

Drillz The Rapper tries to share the pain of young people in the country of Uganda through his music, this continues with his song “The Streets”

Immediately in the opening the audience being spoken for is identified with the call “Stop telling kids not to do drugs, give them a reason not to”, referring to the response of many young Ugandans to the lack of job and educational opportunities that they need to succeed in the rapidly changing country. We have seen the mistakes in the United States around drug policy and how it has been unsuccessful. Drillz the Rapper is trying to highlight the plight of young people through the choices they make to keep themselves going, one of those being using recreational drugs to distance themselves from their sobering realities; “Just understand we all gat pain”.

Protest movements and calls to government officials to address concerns have been met with severe pushback. Police and military officials have been documented harassing and intimidating those trying to highlight economic and social issues persisting in the country. The dismay with this can be seen reflected in the line “It’s like we pointing to our heads with nothing else but rifles”. Further side effects of harsh crackdowns are the waves of violence they create. Whether that be forcing citizen against citizen, or fueling rage at government actions and creating further violence.

During the music video, Drillz appears at the site of a playground without lighting. The rapper is wearing a jacket with the hood up and performs fairly quickly. I think the purpose of this was to make it seem like it was a window into the thoughts in the head of the rapper. The entire piece may have been meant to show a burning opinion in his mind that he just needed to get out and share with his listeners. The song was meant to be his take on the youth crisis and the larger political crisis in the country and his dismay at the lack of understanding between the government and its people.