In the wake of Sierra Leone’s long civil war, an emergent hip hop culture and nascent music industry provided the country’s youth with a source of pride and, for many, a means of employment. But that passion and sense of identification has led to intense rivalries and heated contests for dominance among the supporters of Sierra Leonean rappers such as Kao Denero, LAJ (Life After Justice), and Iggy favorite Bajah and the Dry Eye Crew.

With a sound that blends hip hop, dancehall, and traditional music, Bajah and the Dry Eye Crew are heroes in their country, but the group is currently based in New York City. On their Dec. 12th return to their homeland, their fans took to the streets of Freetown in a show of  support. In the midst of this display, riots broke out among youth who are believed to be supporters of Bajah and Co. and supporters for Kao Denero and LAJ. Police made sweeping arrests.

In an effort to avoid further violence, the government has banned all musical activities, including the Dry Eye Crew’s planned December 24th concert.

The group has made two statements about these events on their Facebook and Twitter pages. In the first, they denounced the violence, but expressed the belief that their fans were not involved:

They also made a plea both for peace and for the show to go on:

To get an idea of what hip-hop fans can be like in Sierra Leone watch the video from Senegalese-American hip hop star Akon’s visit to Freetown in April. It was a little crazy, however, it should be stressed, the reports from the Awareness Times of Sierra Leone suggest that the violence and criminal activity on Dec. 11th and 12th was not the work of hip hop fans and that those responsible were merely taking advantage of the crowds in order to damage property and commit theft.

These are absolutely troubling events, but, whether the riots were directly related to hip hop beef or not, we’re voting for peace AND music. What’s one without the other?

This story is still developing, and, according to the latest BDEC Facebook post, the group’s name has been cleared of any involvement in the violence: