Analysing the importance of drill artists’ offline environment in the creation of violent online identities

Drill, a sub-genre of hip-hop that emerged out of Chicago but is now a mainstay of United Kingdom youth street culture, often includes violent lyrics designed to antagonise rivals. This article draws on a longitudinal study with several drill artists to expand the academic understanding of this cult...

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Main Author: Alexander, James
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Informa UK Limited 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/9869/1/Analysing%20the%20importance%20of%20drill%20artists%20offline%20environment%20in%20the%20creation%20of%20violent%20online%20identities.pdf
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author Alexander, James
author_facet Alexander, James
author_sort Alexander, James
collection LMU
description Drill, a sub-genre of hip-hop that emerged out of Chicago but is now a mainstay of United Kingdom youth street culture, often includes violent lyrics designed to antagonise rivals. This article draws on a longitudinal study with several drill artists to expand the academic understanding of this culture. Within this study, young people’s violent online personas are a response to inhabiting a social space that developed due to a nexus of factors, including social deprivation, a lack of informal guardianship and the rules of the online attention economy. This digital dynamic sees artists competing for viewers’ limited attention by producing exaggerated violent depictions to show cultural competence and embodied street capital as they vie for attention in an antagonistic continuum with other groups. As young people experience social spaces, not governed by the rules of the street, they often realise that their violent online persona’s utility is limited, leading to a rebranding of their digital self. The study concludes that young people’s involvement in online violence is usually a temporary response to the offline social spaces they inhabit. Attempts to address such activities should focus on young people’s offline and online experiences.
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spelling oai:repository.londonmet.ac.uk:98692024-11-26T09:13:27Z https://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/9869/ Analysing the importance of drill artists’ offline environment in the creation of violent online identities Alexander, James 300 Social sciences 360 Social problems & services; associations Drill, a sub-genre of hip-hop that emerged out of Chicago but is now a mainstay of United Kingdom youth street culture, often includes violent lyrics designed to antagonise rivals. This article draws on a longitudinal study with several drill artists to expand the academic understanding of this culture. Within this study, young people’s violent online personas are a response to inhabiting a social space that developed due to a nexus of factors, including social deprivation, a lack of informal guardianship and the rules of the online attention economy. This digital dynamic sees artists competing for viewers’ limited attention by producing exaggerated violent depictions to show cultural competence and embodied street capital as they vie for attention in an antagonistic continuum with other groups. As young people experience social spaces, not governed by the rules of the street, they often realise that their violent online persona’s utility is limited, leading to a rebranding of their digital self. The study concludes that young people’s involvement in online violence is usually a temporary response to the offline social spaces they inhabit. Attempts to address such activities should focus on young people’s offline and online experiences. Informa UK Limited 2023 Article PeerReviewed text en https://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/9869/1/Analysing%20the%20importance%20of%20drill%20artists%20offline%20environment%20in%20the%20creation%20of%20violent%20online%20identities.pdf Alexander, James (2023) Analysing the importance of drill artists’ offline environment in the creation of violent online identities. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 35 (3). pp. 340-354. ISSN 2206-9542 https://doi.org/10.1080/10345329.2023.2173512 10.1080/10345329.2023.2173512 10.1080/10345329.2023.2173512
spellingShingle 300 Social sciences
360 Social problems & services; associations
Alexander, James
Analysing the importance of drill artists’ offline environment in the creation of violent online identities
title Analysing the importance of drill artists’ offline environment in the creation of violent online identities
title_full Analysing the importance of drill artists’ offline environment in the creation of violent online identities
title_fullStr Analysing the importance of drill artists’ offline environment in the creation of violent online identities
title_full_unstemmed Analysing the importance of drill artists’ offline environment in the creation of violent online identities
title_short Analysing the importance of drill artists’ offline environment in the creation of violent online identities
title_sort analysing the importance of drill artists offline environment in the creation of violent online identities
topic 300 Social sciences
360 Social problems & services; associations
url https://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/9869/1/Analysing%20the%20importance%20of%20drill%20artists%20offline%20environment%20in%20the%20creation%20of%20violent%20online%20identities.pdf
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