As more rappers are being gunned down, Boosie Badazz has a simple word of advice to young artists who may be captivated by the allure of their newfound lifestyle: “Don’t get ops.”
Boosie was a part of the “Big Facts Live” podcast at this year’s REVOLT Summit where he discussed the guidance he lends new rappers in the game. “Lately, I’ve just been trying to preach don’t die … Don’t die,” he said on Sept. 24.
He continued, “‘Cause if you get ops, you gone lose people. Like, I’ve been preaching don’t die. Even in my neighborhood, I’ve been just trying to get these n**gas to stay alive you know? When you tell them go be rappers, they be crazy as a motherf**ker you know? So, I’m just trying to teach ‘em to stay alive bro, you know, like this s**t real now.”
Within the past three years, REVOLT has reported on numerous incidents of rappers being fatally shot and robbed or targeted for other reasons. Some of the most recent tragedies to hit the hip hop community include the deaths of PnB Rock and Half Ounce in Los Angeles, Young Dolph in Memphis, and Louisiana rapper JayDaYoungan.
At this point, the “Wipe Me Down” emcee said the best thing a rapper can do is not make themselves a target for those looking for an easy come up. “If you don’t have ops, who wants to kill ya? You can’t be talking about you want ops, and you can’t be showing every time you got 30 pistols hanging, 40 pistols hanging. So now when a n**ga see you, he d**n near scheme,” said Boosie.
He noted that he “used to be like” the new and younger artists indulging in the flashy rapper persona. But, he added, just because you have money and nice things doesn’t mean you have to tell everyone about it. Boosie concluded, “You can have cars and people not see ‘em.”
