Before I get into Quickies for this week, I have to talk about this one, as it hits close to home on many levels.

D.C. native Big Stealf’s latest is a powerful song about the gun violence that’s plagued D.C. in recent months and years. Starting off with samples of news broadcasts over a brooding instrumental, Stealf makes sure he lets his stance be known. He shines a light on the darkness that’s been in D.C. and says “I’m not staying silent, nor am I letting this foolishness go on any longer on this side.” The song details groups of people who are beefing with each other and decide to let their guns do the talking, ultimately catching a child in the crossfire.

This one hits hard because I’ve got kids. It also hits hard because I’ve been in some fight-or-flight situations over the years. Thankfully, I’ve never had a gun pulled on me/never had to pull one out. While I pray that continues to be the case, some aren’t that lucky. What Stealf is trying to get at here is that we can’t just keep shooting each other–especially when people spray indiscriminately and hit innocents. If you’ve got beef with someone, we should all think before we act and ask: is it worth it? 9/10 times, it’s not and it’s really small BS that escalates because people’d rather use their guns instead of their heads. I applaud Stealf for speaking about this issue, as some of the bigger artists in the region gloss over it (or, even worse, glamorize it).

Check out the song, stop the gun violence and support dope music in all its forms.