Mayor of New York calls for social media to censor drill music for violence

New York (EFE).- The mayor of New York, Eric Adams, wants social networks to censor drill music songs and videos, considering that this genre related to rap is partly behind the uptick in violence in the city. town.

The New York mayor’s call comes after the murder last weekend of local artist Jayquan McKenley, 18, who was shot after leaving a recording studio in the Brooklyn district.

This event is added to previous ones that authorities relate to gangs and drill, a style marked by often violent verses that was born in Chicago during the past decade and has gained great popularity in other cities and countries.

“I had no idea what the drill was, but I called my son and he sent me some videos, and it’s alarming,” Adams assured this Friday during a press conference, in which he defended that social networks have to take measures to stop its spread.

The New York mayor, who amid an uptick in gun violence across the United States has made security his top priority, said he intends to meet with social media companies to make it clear to them that “they have a civic and corporate responsibility ”.

“We kicked Trump off Twitter for what he was saying and yet we are allowing music, weapons displays, violence to continue on these sites,” lamented the Democratic politician.

Adams, a former police officer, said he also wants to meet with drill artists to discuss how their music is fueling violence. in many communities in the United States.

This week, the Brooklyn prosecutor, Eric González, had already warned in an interview with the local channel Fox 5 that “drill rap videos are fueling violence between rival gangs”, after several recent shootings in the district that the authorities link with artists of this genre.

According to González, “the music itself is not the cause of the violence, but it is fueling the desire to retaliate” by gang members.

The authorities denounce that many of the songs deal with clashes and quarrels between groups, accompanied by videos in which weapons and threats abound, which end up triggering fights and shootouts.