An Open Letter to Future: Why Mask Off is Wrong for our Youth and Culture
Dear Future,
On April 6, 2017, your song “Match Off” became one of only three Hip Hop/R&B songs released this year to be RIAA certified Gold (selling 500,000 units).
By April 14, 2017, “Match Off” was RIAA certified Platinum (selling 1,000,000 units) with sales showing no signs of slowing down.
As a black man, I am proud to see another brother achieve success.
But, as the Founder of a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower at-risk black youth, I find the popularity of this song to be disappointing.
Every day, I work with young boys who idolize rappers like you. They consume your music videos, mimic your style, and recite the lyrics to your songs. This can sometimes be fun to watch. At other times, when the song is like “Mask Off,” it’s not.
Despite the infectious flute-sampled beat, the song’s central message is blatantly destructive; this is most apparent when listening to the chorus:
“Percocets, Molly, Percocets / Percocets, Molly, Percocets
Rep the set, Gotta rep the set / Chase a check, Never chase a bitch”
You shamelessly glorify taking hard drugs that can be lethal at high doses. (This seems particularly reckless considering the country is in the middle of an opioid epidemic that is increasingly moving into urban areas).
Then, you brag about standing up for your gang. This must be really important because you repeat twice. Should our young boys especially take note?
Next, you encourage chasing a check. But, you never seem to mention exactly what check is available for gang members who are constantly high on prescription meds and synthetic drugs. I’d love to know.
And finally, you warn never to chase a bitch. Here, you appear to be doing one of two things. Either you’re setting up the offensive classification that some women are worthy of respect and others are not — you know, the supposed bitches of the world. Or you simply don’t respect females, and think it’s acceptable to call them any demeaning label you want. I’m guessing it might be the latter. On your other new song, “Good Dope,” you boast, “I do good dope, I got a good hoe.”
The rest of the song seems to reinforce these caustic activities and beliefs.
In response to my criticism, I’m sure you would likely argue that you’re simply rapping about personal experiences or just accurately depicting life in the inner city. You’re just keeping it real.
But, this would be a specious argument. It’s obvious that you’re not just describing gang violence or the prevalence of using and selling drugs in urban communities. Nor are you giving voice to the tragic, real life consequences of engaging in such behaviors. You are unabashedly endorsing these endeavors without regard to the negative repercussions. And that is what makes me sad for our young people who love your music.
Tricia Rose captures my worry about songs like “Mask Off” in her book, The Hip Hop Wars, “As it stands now, ‘keeping it real’ [by gangster rappers] is a strategy that traps poor black youth in a repetitious celebration of the rotten fruits of community destruction.” She further explains that this distortion of inner city life continues to link African Americans to laziness, criminal violence, and sexual insatiability; thus, reinforcing the most potent racist and sexist images of the black community.
Most young people arrive at our organization in severe need of help and guidance. They, usually, come from single-family homes, live below the poverty line, and have a family member or family friend who is ensnarled in the criminal justice system. They attend schools that are over-crowded and underfunded. And they must navigate the alluring elements of community destruction that you seem to celebrate.
We work tirelessly to help these vulnerable boys and girls overcome their circumstances and create a path to become successful and self-sufficient.
We do that, in part, by stressing the importance of excelling in school and developing career goals; along with, discouraging them from engaging in activities that are damaging to themselves and other members of the community.
These efforts are made exponentially harder when artists like you — who look like them, sound like them, and have similar backgrounds — contradict our teachings by selling them, with catchy beats and stylized videos, a (dangerous) lifestyle and value-system that appears much more fun and glamorous.
I’m genuinely happy to see the success you have attained. When one wins, we all win. However, I wish you would keep in mind that whether you want to be or not, you’re a role model for our young boys and girls. They see themselves in you.
That’s why we need artists like you to produce songs that do not glorify unhealthy behavior. In fact, it would be tremendously helpful to so many inner city community organizations, including my own, if you could create music that encourages the next generation to be hard working, educated, and community leaders.
Sincerely,
Jarrett
