The emergence and popularity of New York City drill rap have brought the spotlight back on the city, especially as a hub for fresh talent. On the other hand, it has also been cast as a scapegoat in city officials’ response to the rising rash of violence that has spread across The Big Apple’s five boroughs in recent years.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently met with Brooklyn native and rapper Maino, drill music stars Fivio Foreign and B-Lovee, and other music artists to get a better understanding of drill culture and discuss ways to curb gun violence plaguing the city. The facilitated meeting took place in NYC’s City Hall around 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 15).
“It’s been a lot of talk about drill rap, drill music in New York City, connecting violence with the culture,” Maino explained in a clip while sitting alongside Mayor Adams and surrounded by members of the drill community. “And I just wanted to create a conversation with the mayor. We got Fivio [Foreign] here, we got young B-Lovee here. We got Slow & Bucks here, we got Bleezy here to talk about what’s really happening so the mayor can get a real perspective and real understanding on what Drill rap is. And so that we can have some real dialogue and we can really start to make things happen.”
From there, Mayor Adams chimed in, adding, “We’re going to roll out something together on the whole conversation and we’re looking forward to it and I appreciate you for having me.”
As of press time, no further information has been provided as to if this conversation will be made available to the public or if it has yet to take place.
The meeting comes just days after the most recent report of New York City’s gun violence, which found that shootings are up 37% thus far this year versus the same period in 2021 with an average of nearly 4 people being shot each day.