the Grio – Hip-hop artist mourns gentrification of black Seattle neighborhood
SEATTLE, Washington — It’s easy to see facts and figures charting Seattle, Washington’s real estate boom as a positive sign for the city’s economy.
But if you ask hip hop artist Draze, it merely charts the demise of his neighborhood, the Central District.
‘When I look at this place, I think it’s changing,” he said Tuesday. “In some regards, it’s over. It’s dead.”
Draze recently released a music video called “The Hood Ain’t The Same” about gentrification in the Central District and the end of Seattle’s African-American neighborhood.
“We have a responsibility to preserve it if we really want diversity,” explained Draze outside a long-abandoned African-American owned business, “We’re into diversity. We like the concept. But what is diversity if I don’t exist.”