Hip Hop Loses Another

Wednesday's shootout in Cincinnati that resulted in the murder of rapper Clifford (T.I.) Harris's best friend and personal assistant, Philant Johnson, is "nothing less than tragic," states Celebrity Personal Advisor and Mental Health Therapist, Terence McPhaul. The hip hop community continues to rack-up senseless deaths.

McPhaul, an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Clark Atlanta University, and author of "The Psychology of Hip Hop" and "The Celebrity Psyche" says, “while it appears obvious in this case that the rapper (T.I.) himself was not to blame for the fracas that resulted in the death of his best friend, it is unfortunate that the hip hop community still does not want to accept the scope of damage caused by the music." “What I am referring to are those individuals who grow up on hip hop, and subscribe to a hip hop lifestyle, rather than seeing hip hop as a music genre, said McPhaul.”

Recently, “Proof” of D-12 fame was gunned down in Detroit just a few weeks ago, while “Hawk”, an underground rap powerhouse from Houston was toppled by violence earlier this week. McPhaul who developed a curriculum called “Managing Success and Celebrity”, that is taught to his high profile clients to avoid sentinel mishaps states, “I feel events like the Hip Hop Summit and other gatherings are important, however, it is time that these groups, along with the music industry, begin to do more work to ensure that senseless killings end, as opposed to the affairs simply turning into useless parties.”