YouTube has started deleting "violent" music videos, under increasing pressure, and specifically singling out "drill music," which police have fingered as a notably dangerous music genre.
More than 30 clips have already been removed from the video-streaming service, many of which are being blamed for an uptick in violent crime, NME reported.
Driving the campaign is the U.K. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, who has identified video clips that she feels lends glamor to violence and has asked YouTube to yank.
The bulk of the videos can be classified as "drill," which was founded in the early 2000s by Chicago rapper Pacman, The HuffPost reported.
The sub-genre is closely linked to rap but commonly features highly aggressive lyrics based upon subjects of gangs, guns and drugs.
In an interview broadcast on LBC radio, Dick said she would be working with social media companies to try to have such music videos pulled.
"For us, if it's against the law, it's against the law and should be taken down," she said. "If it is inciting or glamorizing violence, then we think they have a social responsibility to work with us to take those videos down."
While Dick is spurred by concern about a crime wave sweeping London, the issue is not limited to the U.K.
The HuffPost noted there have been ongoing debates about whether the sub-genre was influencing violent crimes in Chicago and surrounding areas.
The effect of aggressive music and how it may impact the behavioral patterns of the listener has been hotly contested for years.
Jack R. Christianson, an author who researched this very effect, said that while a "bad" lyric may not prompt someone to do as the song states, the "dominating thoughts that you have in your mind are what drive your behaviors," The Deseret News reported.
"This, he said, allows the listener to remember the lyric, which could act on the subconscious and trigger the brain to release certain hormones that stimulates pleasure centers in response to specific chords, rhythms and patterns in the music.”
YouTube is not the only platform to clamp down.
Earlier this month Spotify removed R. Kelly's music from its playlists, citing its new policy on hate content and hateful conduct.
In its policy, Spotify made it clear that it doesn't tolerate "content that expressly and principally promotes, advocates, or incites hatred or violence against a group or individual based on characteristics, including race, religion, gender identity, sex, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, veteran status, or disability."
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