Raging has primarily come to embody the practices associated with music genres like hardcore and punk, specifically moshing and stage diving. Was it a lack of security? The capitalist and corporate greed of those at the top overseeing Astroworld? Unruly youth broken down by the effects of an ongoing pandemic? Travis Scott himself? Everyone has their own opinion on who or what is responsible, the tragedy bringing issues of live music safety to the forefront - and raging’s place in it, especially in rap. In an effort to understand the disaster, people are trying to pinpoint who to blame, just like the 1999 music festival. It’s understandable that Woodstock ’99 has resurfaced amid the tragedy that occurred last weekend at Travis Scott‘s Astroworld in Houston. Attendees interviewed provide necessary context: how festival goers (most of them drunk, unruly, and young white men) were already angry and frustrated for a number of reasons - high temperatures, expensive water, and overflowing portable toilets (which resulted in many attendees being covered in piss and shit). But, ultimately, it’s Limp Bizkit that people point the blame at, as scenes from their performance are meant to imply that it’s their fault the crowd’s rage took a turn for the worse. In Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage, the rage is primarily placed on Limp Bizkit as the band goes into their staple song, “ Break Stuff.” The sequence - from bassist Sam Rivers flipping off the crowd as he walks onstage to fans tearing off pieces of wood (and riding them across the audience) from a nearby sound tower - is meant to convey the moment the festival took a turn for the worse, the nu-metal group propelling the energy of the event into something chaotic and destructive. Travis Scott has defined and redefined raging for almost a decade now, so much so that he has even named his fans "ragers." Photo Credit: Rick Kern/Getty Images Amid the tragedy that occurred at Travis Scott’s Astroworld, what does rage and raging in rap look like moving forward?
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