Bleeding at my typewriter
What does the death of a 21-year-old white rapper have to do with Roodepoort?
What does the death of a 21-year-old white rapper have to do with Roodepoort?
Everything. Let me explain.
Until Thursday I did not know who he was and never heard his music. Then I saw an article on my Facebook feed with the headline 21-year-old Lil Peep dead from drug overdose. His age as well as the accompanying photo caught my attention. He was a scrawny, tattoo-covered kid from New York who despite his outrageous clothing seemed sad.
According to the article he was open about his depression, his drug abuse and his struggle with his sexuality. Those who knew him called him an old soul.
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Lil Peep’s one and only album called Come over when you’re sober is truly unique and he had a promising career. And then on Wednesday before his show in El Paso he overdosed on prescription tablets in the back of his tour van. Shortly before his death he posted a video of himself looking wasted and taking the tablets.
At first it left me feeling sad and empty. I have buried some of my own friends who died of a drug overdose. But as I researched the young rapper I came across a disturbing video one of his friends made on the day of his death. They wanted to surprise him in the back of the bus, only to come across his already blue corpse.
This is where Roodepoort comes in. The drug scourge here, and on the entire West Rand, is at an all-time high. Drug pushers are thriving and our kids are dying. It is as if young people have become blasé and nonchalant about the real dangers of drugs. Kids even have WhatsApp groups to inform each other of dealers’ cellphone numbers and where they will deliver.
I watched the disturbing Twitter video over and over. It bugged me the whole weekend – such a waste of life. And drugs don’t discriminate. They take the lives of both the rich and poor, the famous and those living in obscurity. It might sound sick but I wish every young person in Roodepoort could watch the Twitter video – and see what the real face of drug abuse looks like. Meanwhile, RIP, Lil Peep.
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