Drill music has been blamed by the media, police and politicians as the reason for the rise in violent crime in London. But is this justified?

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has blamed drill music for fuelling a surge in murders and violent crime in London and subsequently in May 2018, YouTube revealed it had deleted more than half of its "violent" music videos due to her request. Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary in April 2018, revealed that these videos "document, encourage and glamourise violence and goad and threaten others". Drill music often contains lyrics that detail accounts of violence and drugs, so are artists exposing and encouraging their audience to illegal activities?

However, Croydon-based drill rapper T-face argues that the drill scene is simply being misunderstood. He argues that "drill music is not a cause but an escape route". Some music videos contain violent accounts and aggressive lyrics only to document existing violence in parts of London rather than incite it. T-face argues that "artists are only trying to tell their followers their story ... what they actually went through".

Last year, drill group "1011" (based in West London) were banned from making music without police permission, mentioning death or injury in their songs or social media, possessing balaclavas or attending Notting Hill Carnival. The most popular song they featured on, "Next Up?", received over 11 million views on YouTube before it was taken down. Jodie Ginsberg, chiefe executive of freedom of expression campaign group Index, said "Banning a kind of music is not the way to handle ideas or opinions that are distasteful or disturbing. We need to tackle actual violence, not ideas and opinions.". 

However, some may argue that the drill artsists themselves need to stop creating music as it poses a high risk for them. On Wednesday 1st August 2018, 23-year-old rapper Siddique Kamara, known as "Incognito" from drill music group Moscow17, was stabbed to death. It could be argued that his death was caused due to his prominence in the drill scene.

Although drill is perceived as a cause for violence, London charity United Borders is using it to connect with young people who are at risk of crime and violence. The charity encourages young people to write and record drill as a way to express their lives and give them something to focus on, rather than them turning to crime.

Is drill music really to blame for the rise in violence or the communities that make young people vulnerable to crime?