And his death silenced one more voice to translate a broad segment of America-its poor, its disenfranchised-to a wider audience that of late finds itself preoccupied with the relationship-themed rhymes of a former television star.

His lyrics cut through the cacophony of tweets, video uploads, and IG posts that have become meat and drink for rappers who don't quite have a deal, but have a buzz among fans willing to dig past the first page on their streaming service or scour YouTube for music. What Lor Scoota, born Tyriece Watson, had was a connection to the streets that resonated through YouTube videos. Lor Scoota didn't have thousands of streams on Spotify, he hadn't made an SNL appearance or turned a Grammy performance into a political statement. The reactions to Lor Scoota's death-a tweet from Meek Mill, words from Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, a story in the Washington Post-are normally reserved for more famous hip-hop artists who have been slain. The young Baltimore rapper's life was erased in a hail of bullets at the corner of Harford and Moravia roads, just minutes after leaving the charity basketball game. On the day that 'Reasonable Doubt'-the album which allowed a younger Jay Z to leave the streets behind him -celebrated its 20th anniversary, Lor Scoota was gunned down. And in Baltimore, a young rapper, Lor Scoota, was attending the Touch the People, Pray For Peace in These Streets charity basketball game at Morgan State University. Instagram posts and laudatory tweets hummed across the respective social networks. allowed drug-rapper-turned-pop-icon Jay Z to release and garner attention from his freshman album 'Reasonable Doubt.'Īrguably Jay Z's opus, 'Reasonable Doubt' celebrated its 20th anniversary on June 25.

A similar gap between releases by Nas and Notorious B.I.G. Had crack not ravaged South Central Los Angeles, had brutal policing not become the norm, the five-man crew of NWA would have lacked the source material to pen 'Straight Outta Compton,' 'Gangsta, Gangsta' and 'Fuck tha Police.' A protracted gap in Rakim recordings offered up just enough space for Nas to establish a firm foothold in the hip-hop landscape and supplant Rakim as the genre's most heralded lyricist. Yes, it's a worn out trope, but one that rings true in both life and art.

State of survival game lor