Drill, Death & Dishonour

Street illiteracy is a term coined by Jonathon Ilan, in The British Journal of Criminology, referring to the way British authorities misread drill and consequently react counterproductively to control crime.

Jonathan Ilan is a Senior Lecturer of Criminology at the University of Kent. With his main research interests being street culture, ethnography, youth crime and youth culture, Dr Ilan focuses on understanding and explore the variance of cultural norms in modern day society. His book ‘Understanding Street Culture: Poverty, Crime, Youth and Cool' explores the fear-fascination relationship society has with the urban poor, as well as the forms of expressivity associated with the marginalised.

Ilan believes the authorities' attempt to censor drill music is “based on a thin, ‘street-illiterate’ understanding of the genre that ultimately rests on stereotypes of young black men as violent ‘gang’ members”.

Donya Lamrhari works within the Disrupting Exploitation team at The Children's Society. She said: “With roots in disadvantaged inner-city London, drill appeals to young people who grow up in deprived areas. It is a form of expression for otherwise voiceless communities.”

In many cases, drill artists belong to the demographic: young, male, black and underprivileged, in which their music can be used to tell their story.

When growing up around non affluent surroundings, opportunities are curtailed. In addition to this, the unnecessary school exclusions black boys face, in which their white counterparts are dealt with differently, leaves young boys in a place where they are vulnerable to gang grooming.

Emily Beever is the Senior Development Officer at No Knives Better Lives, Youth Link Scotland. “The drivers of violence are really complicated. Not everyone that picks up a knife and goes on to use it has the same underlying reasons.” She said, “There’s poverty, deprivation and trauma, but there's also a lot more factors that may play a short-term role which carry longer undercurrents like, gang violence, fear or bullying.”

Therefore, the transition from this difficult lifestyle into music can not only help the individual but inspire those around them and create a fellowship for listeners.

Ilan stresses the importance of highlighting that engaging in music is more a step away from violence and ‘the roads’ than an attempt to incite and entice others into it.

Desensitization in the streets

An anonymous interviewee has recently been not guilty for a murder, following a case in which an 18-year-old died from a severe knife wound. 

“I don’t know if it’s from drill or just how life is now but, on the roads, you’re desensitized to it. You’ve got to be.” he said. “I’ve been shot at, stabbed, been jail, and I’m still here, this shit ain’t a joke though.”

“I like how the music is because it talks about what I’m living. Most these people wouldn’t know about this life if it wasn’t for music. Music doesn’t make people do these things, it’s just something some of us can relate to and it sounds good so other people listen too. 

“Anyone who thinks music creates violence is stupid. There was violence way before drill existed and it’ll be the same when a new wave genre takes over. Them politicians are just looking to blame anything that's not themselves. 

“They really think if they silence us the violence will stop? Like they think these guys can only communicate through YouTube, when you delete their videos, they’re just gonna be like ‘aight we’ll allow it then."

The use of slang is often perceived by authorities as code that rival gangs use to communicate and taunt each other online. The Metropolitan police use the unit, Trident, to monitor music on YouTube. Anything they believe incites violence they will ask to be removed. But in a genre characterised by violence it's difficult to decipher what is classed as inciting.  

In 2008 the Ben Kinsella Trust was set up following the tragic, unprovoked murder of 16-year-old Ben Kinsella. Prior to his murder, Ben had been a campaigner for youth violence. He had written to the prime minister at the time challenging the government on what they were doing to tackle youth violence. He believed the world was unsafe for teenagers and not enough was being done at a high level.   

The Trust was set up to campaign for justice and action for those affected by knife crime and to educate young people about the dangers of carrying knives.

Patrick Green, CEO of the Trust, said: “Art is art and violence is violence. We need to respect music for what it is as a social commentary. There is a difference between a social commentary and drawing people into violence. 

“When I was growing up punk music was demonised. Youth culture reflects the time, it's a social commentary and we’ve got to accept it as that. There’s always been violence in music.

“While we’re all agonising about drill music, it’ll fade away like grime did in the next few years to be replaced by something else. However, there is a line between art and using music to exploit people or antagonise. It can be a difficult line to find in art, but it is one that we’ve got to recognise.”

Based in Islington, Barking and Nottingham, the Trust offers lesson plans and workshops to educate young people on the dangers of knife crime and encourage them to stay safe.

“We’ve created an exhibition which is a series of rooms built on the lived experience of people who have been affected by knife crime. The young people travel through the rooms we’ve created and make a series of choices which lead them in different directions.

“It’s based on not just the victim's journey but the offender's journey as well. It helps you unpack what one single decision might lead to and the number of people that might be involved that you might not have associated.

“Youth crime is a multi-layered problem. You start with the fact we have an unequal society with wealth distributed disproportionately. We have inequality, deprivation, poverty, and racism. We don’t have enough resources targeting young people, particularly around mental health. And then you layer that on with gangs who are very good at exploiting vulnerable young people."

“We recognised very early on that despite all our efforts and anybody's efforts in tackling knife crime, no one single person or one single organisation can solve this very complex issue.

I contacted the Metropolitan for a statement on what they are currently doing to reduce knife and violent crime in the UK. I was told they did not have time to answer.