Aoki Lee Simmons recently went viral for sharing her opinion about the alarming rate the mainstream African American rappers have been dying and the impact that the fatalities have had on the communities that they belong to as opposed to the non-Black communities who also enjoy the music they made. In the wake of Takeoff's untimely death, the Harvard student/model took to TikTok to share her thoughts on the matter.
"You know, every time a Black hip hop artist, rap artist, who has broken into the American mainstream dies, it is only those communities, the Black community, the hip-hop community who are actively involved in their remembrance or in mourning them," Aoki said. "At the same time, so many privileged non-Black are living their lives...like...the soundtrack to their lives is this music. They are using it for everything. They [constantly have] the music in their ears [for] parties, lives, moments, gym, motivation, it's the soundtrack to their life. They are getting so much value from these people and from their live stories. And yet, when these people die...not a word. So much about hip hop so compelling is that it's about stories. Part of what makes hip-hop so compelling to White America is that it's so often the stories of the traumatic experience of Black Americans..."
Aoki Lee's father, Russell Simmons, is the co-founder of Def Jam. Back in the 80s, the rap label presented brand new acts like Run-DMC, LL Cool J, and The Beastie Boys to the mainstream, which helped globalize hip hop among all ethnicities. Thus, hip-hop music eventually became the most appealing and streamed genre of music in the world. Today, Aoki's father and uncle (Joseph Simmons) have a net worth of $350 million and $60 million, respectively. Needless to say, Aoki has been exposed to an endless supply of hip-hop knowledge and culture from all across the spectrum.
Scroll up and press play to listen to her take.
Source: Instagram
