Ed. Note: I apologize for not censoring my use of profanities within this post. I’ve tried to, within the last few years, keep things PG-13. However, if I’m going to be real with you, I have to be ALL the way real with you all. That includes the fact that, while I have a very robust vocabulary, sometimes I add a “motherfucker” to make sure people hear me.

Gun violence is a horrible problem in the world, regardless of race, gender, sexual identity or age. Bullets, unfortunately, have no names. Even if you aim to kill someone else, you may very well take out an innocent person. On Michael Kirby’s “Mommas Cry,” the conscious-leaning artist/middle school dean speaks on gun violence and its effects on the world. More succinctly, it speaks on communities of color and how gun violence can often be traced back to a root cause: toxic masculinity.

It’s an interesting take on gun violence, mainly because the track doesn’t shy away from truth. Inspired by the death of one of Kirby’s former students, “Cry” places the onus on his generation (Millennials), and other, older generations to relearn and reevaluate what it means to be a man. If not for us, we need to do it for the younger generations. For too long, Black and Brown children have seen/heard in our media a warped representation of a “man.” Oftentimes, the “man” is this “take no shit, shoot first ask for forgiveness later” entity who “gives no fucks.” This is how many men in my family were and what I had to unlearn myself. Hell, I’m still unlearning some of the toxicity I caught wind of over the years. However, I try to impart on my children that there’s more to life than just blindly being a stereotype.

Obviously, as a Black man, I know that’s not every one of us. It’s quite literally a minority within a group of minorities. I also know that some kids look up to people deemed “cool.” Unfortunately, drilling opps is often seen as a necessary-but-cool (“cool” in that “take no shit” way) practice. Even when the “real niggas” say that the gang shit or having opps ain’t no game, you’ll still have people emulating that life. This song speaks on that–and so much more.

I’m not against guns, though I hate gun violence. A gun is a powerful tool. Put it in the hands of a child who grew up seeing negative representations of Black men in media, however? You’re asking for people to die, intentionally and otherwise. These are the children often don’t get to talk about their real feelings. They’re the ones often told “boys don’t cry” and that you’re a “bitch” or a “pussy-ass nigga” if you do.

We can’t stop guns from being out there. Even if the country banned all guns, someone somewhere would still have some. That said, we can unlearn toxic traits and “lessons.” We can learn to disagree with our words, not our bullets. We can put more positive imagery out on what a “real nigga” is. Heck, even if some Black men don’t like referring to themselves as “niggas,” we can put our heart and minds together and change things. The children are our future, yes. They’re also a reflection on things given to them from the past.

I didn’t want to make this a long post, nor an opinion piece. However, I absolutely abhor gun violence and toxic masculinity. So check out the song below, let’s all do better teaching our youth and support dope music in all its forms.