The Washington Times today includes a list of 20 rappers who were killed at a young age.  There’s no real argument or stated purpose to this piece, but it does serve as a reminder of the violence that has sometimes followed rap music.  (Though, it’s worth noting that hip hop actually evolved, in part, through a desire to end street violence, and it still serves that function in many ways.)

Globally speaking, however, rap is not the only music genre that has seen its rising stars killed off; in fact, the Mexican narcocorrido (a folk genre that often mythologizes drug kingpins and their violent lifestyles) has witnessed a truly shocking number of murders.   More than a dozen performers were murdered in just over a year (between 2006 and 2008), and just a few months ago, Diego Rivas was added to the list of slain Mexican musicians. With this disturbing context in mind, rap doesn’t seem so hazardous after all…