I agree with the fact that the "war on drugs" has dramatically increased drug associated violence. But, at the same time, being economically downtrodden or "racially oppressed" simply isn't truly correlative to violence without other factors that should be considered. Hell, my father grew up in an area where he still used an outhouse and had no electricity until he went to college (in the '60s); yet the fact that he and his community were (and are) absurdly poor did not lead to violence. There are still plenty of predominantly black communities in the south that are absurdly behind the rest of the country economically and technologically, yet they don't have the problems that many "better off" places do.
The true culprit is the breakdown of family and community at the most basic levels. If individuals treated/raised their children, their family, their neighbors, etc. in an appropriate manner the social breakdowns that lead to violence would be minimized (it isn't possible to eliminate it entirely). And, if a community as a whole were to stand up and refuse to allow the shenanigans that lead to this type of shit then they could better their situation. Eventually they have to realize that it's their own kids/cousins/nephews and such that are murdering their brethren; until they address that there is nothing that can be done from the outside.
Another Edit for Zack: I was just throwing out a name of another "musician" that bases his/her career off of self-serving bullshit. Who the **** is Chief Keef?
