“What Happened To The Kids” by Tory Lanez

Tory Lanez deals with two major concepts in his new track – the dangers of growing up on the streets and self-hatred amongst the black community. The artists spits out ongoing real life situations in the hopes of changing minds and preventing these from occurring in the future.

In what seems to be a fully loaded rap verse, Lanez describes his early life where he was involved in gangs which really did not do him much good. He explains that little boys in these gangs do nothing but brag about themselves and act violently to prove that they are valuable to the gang. As a child, he was presented with more evil opportunities than good but he always knew God was protecting him and that’s what kept him going.

Lanez prays for his son and the next generation that they won’t have to experience the ills of society such as having to stay on drugs or hanging around with robbers and killers just so they can survive. He hopes for a future where instead of treating blacks like they’re dangerous, they are given a chance like everyone else to be normal kids. He also looks forward to the day when blacks stop hating and killing one another.

Second Concept

The second concept spoken about in the song is that of self-hatred. According to Tory, the media and society have taught blacks especially to despise who they are, thus swinging into a culture of pretense. It has gotten so deep that people no longer have the freedom to wear the same clothes for the fear of being ridiculed. The rapper admits that he is imperfect but only attempting to change the status quo so that younger ones don’t have to endure the same thing.

In all, “What happened to the Kids” draws attention to long-standing pertinent issues in the black community which subtly causes damage and influences their lives in the long run.