You don’t know what you have until it’s gone, and in the case of rap it usually takes the death of a top talent to make others recognize that it’s time to start being progressive. It’s a very tough reality to come to terms with, but it’s been proven as the death of Lil Peep had sparked an anti xan movement after being sold fake xans. And now the death of Fredo Santana, a drill rap legend has strengthened the movement known as “kick the cup.” The popularization of drug use in modern rap has been detrimental to many as Fredo’s death was caused by liver and kidney failure due to lean. Fredo was a tremendous talent who is partly responsible for the culture shift that took place in 2012/13.
The whole rap industry mourned the death of Fredo, from rap’s current stars to industry giants as the recognized the significance that he had. No matter how big or small they might have been in the eye of the public, everyone saw Fredo as someone that deserved to be respected for the work that he had put in. Even his biggest enemies couldn’t deny that he was a unique figure in the drill scene with they were still at war with each other and payed their own respects.
I was in shock when I found out about it at two in the morning on Saturday, but I came across one post that calmed down as it explained how the death was oddly enough the way Fredo would have rather had it. It explained that he had came up from nothing doing whatever he could do to stay alive as we all know, but it went on to say that he didn’t die from a gunshot, a beef, or anything of that sort — he died fighting his demons. Fredo had made a great change to his life as he had a wife and kid, but due to the PTSD of living in one of the most dangerous hoods in America the only way he could fight it was to resort to drugs. Although it was a dreadful way to go, he got to live life how he always wanted to and created another life in the process — in the case of is son, Legend. Thank you for blessing all of us with your cultural impact and your monumental talent while you were here Fredo, you made an impact on us all.