No Black boy is born with a needle in his arm or a blunt in his hand. He is born with potential. The "addiction" is learned. Therefore, it can be unlearned. The only thing that needs to be "better" is the environment we force these boys to survive in.
Keywords are how the internet categorizes our pain. "Black boy addictionz better" is currently a warning sign. It tells us that a generation of young men believes that their only way to feel intense passion is through self-harm. black boy addictionz better
If you are a young Black man reading this, or if you are raising one, here is how you reclaim the phrase "black boy addictionz better." No Black boy is born with a needle
When young men in urban communities use the word "addiction," they are rarely speaking clinically about substance use disorder. Instead, they are borrowing the language of intensity. In hip-hop and street vernacular, to be "addicted" to something means to be unwavering, relentless, and deeply committed. Therefore, it can be unlearned
We cannot write this article without addressing the elephant in the room: music. Current rap lyrics often glorify "lean" (codeine), "percocets," and "gas" (marijuana). The artists are not doctors, but they are influencers. When a young man hears his favorite rapper say, "I’m addicted to the lifestyle," he internalizes that.