"Being positive in the music:" Milwaukee rapper makes effort to stop city's violence through song



MILWAUKEE -- What a violent week it has been in Milwaukee. More than 20 shootings have happened in just the past seven days -- many of them fatal. Some members of the Milwaukee community are moving forward as the bullets keep flying.

Last week's shooting was near the 2200 block of Lake Drive. Friday night, July 10th a 28-year-old woman is expected to survive the most recent shooting in another part of town. Police say it was an innocent bystander.

While the violence does not stop, neither do efforts to stop it.

It was said to be a Facebook fight the fueled the anger leading to 14-year-old Tariq Akbar's death. Since then, the shootings have not stopped.

The 9th homicide in less than a week was 13-year-old Giovonnie Cameron.

Friday, Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn went on national news to talk about the violence from the top police leader to the person on the streets -- through vigils, through grief. Many are looking for answers.

Andre Lee tries to reach young people through music. A kind of music that is not popular these days -- positive, peaceful rap. Lee says he'll keep trying to reach the kids through music.

"You put vegetables on their plate and give them candy and everything that is sweet they won't touch the vegetables. That's how I see it being positive in the music. They're not too fond of getting the positive because it's not being pushed," said Lee.

Lee happens to have driven school bus last year. He happens to know some of the recent victims. Giovonnie Cameron was on his bus.

"He got on the bus, from the first day he started riding the bus, everybody was like 'hey Gio!'," said Lee.

Lee himself says he's been the victims of crimes.

"Every night I got to wonder, is a bullet going to come through my house through my wall, through my window in my sleep? Am I going to have to wake up to somebody breaking inside my home? You think about that? Every night I think about it. We not dependent on the next person to make that change instead of working on it ourselves," said Lee.

There have been arrests and charges in the homicides. Still, Lee says it's difficult to reach people through positive music. It's not what people are listening to right now in clubs.