Kaskade calls out LA Times for hyping rave deaths


No one has done more to publicly combat dance music's reputation as a drug-fueled culture than Kaskade.

He starred in that URB Ecstasy PSA in 2013. He is open about his own sobriety. Now, he's taken to his blog to call out what he sees as an unfair stigma associated with dance music, particularly in reaction to a report from the LA Timesblaming HARD's decision not to host Day of the Dead this year on drug overdoses that occurred during HARD Summer 20116.

Kaskade to Be First Dance Music Headliner at Los Angeles Convention Center

"Let's not pretend this is an isolated problem, something unique to dance music culture," Kaskade writes. "According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, every day in America 27 (TWENTY-SEVEN!) people die as a result of drunk driving crashes. That's more than one person, per hour, every single day."

See more photos of Kaskade

While the LA Times refers to the unfortunate passing of recent revelers as "summer of death," Kaskade chastises the publication for being sensationalist and oversimplifying a complex issue.

Kaskade Gets Tribal With Too Many Zooz on 'Jorts FTW'

"I'm happy to tackle substance abuse," he continues. "I'm happy to use my influence to encourage people to be responsible, to stay alive. But this is a world-wide problem, something that is not even close to being unique to dance music. Part of the problem is people trying to simple-size it. Raves = drugs. So close them down."

Read Kaskade's full post on his website.

Billboard Dance has reached out to the LA Times for comment.


Advertisement