Ryan Raddon, better known as Kaskade, has always had a big voice in the EDM community. He uses his social media presence to voice his opinion and highlight important issues.
Most recently Kaskade spoke out against the LA Times, which recently published the article, “After a summer of deaths, popular Halloween rave won’t be held,” about why Hard Day of the Dead will not be held this October. Though the article quotes a spokeswoman for the event saying that the festival is not being held for “logistical issues,” it goes on to highlight deaths that have happened through out the years.
Kaskade responded to this article by blog, calling them out for their incorrect reporting, saying there were actually zero people transferred to the hospital for his LA show.
Back in 2013 he turned to his Twitter account during his Atmosphere tour. Before his scheduled show in Miami the venue came up with a list of things that were not allowed at the venue. Kaskade did not share the venue’s views and was vocal about his disappointment.
Listen. This list of everything "not allowed" was never presented to me. It's something that's been generated within the last week.
— Kaskade (@kaskade) September 13, 2013
It's still US vs. THEM
— Kaskade (@kaskade) September 13, 2013
We have power guys. We will change things for sure. We already are.
— Kaskade (@kaskade) September 13, 2013
He is trying to preserve the originality of EDM culture and show the bond that people share when they exchange kandi and express their creativity. If we are going to change people’s perspectives and show people there is more than what the media is reporting, we too need to speak up.
In 2013 the University of Massachusetts Amherst cancelled EDM shows “forever,” because of the number of people using and dying from molly at these events. Pretty Lights and Above and Beyond were cancelled because of this ban.
Kaskade took to Twitter again to share his thoughts and shed light on other problems that are happening everyday with substances that have become socially acceptable.
U of Mass has apparently banned all "EDM" events "forever". Their reason…?
— Kaskade (@kaskade) September 27, 2013
"The Molly-taking culture at these shows is real and now exceedingly dangerous to the health+safety of concert attendees.”
— Kaskade (@kaskade) September 27, 2013
But, WHAT IF we switched out a few words in that statement? For instance, "Molly" with "Alcohol", and "These shows" with "The NFL"?
— Kaskade (@kaskade) September 27, 2013
Then THIS "Fan falls, dies at Candlestick during 49ers-Packers game. Police found that alcohol had factored into that accident."
— Kaskade (@kaskade) September 27, 2013
(The ban was recently lifted by the University.)
He is not trying to deny the issues, he is trying to show people that there is a bigger problem, not just one isolated to the EDM community. Getting rid of EDM will not solve the bigger drug problem in the United States.
Kaskade has been active in the scene for years and has used his platform for good, speaking out against false reporting and one-sided stories. He reminds us every time we turn on one of his songs that this community is about the music and the connection that we can make with people. We can learn from him and too use our voices to shed light on the truths and bigger issues.
As Kaskade says:
“We don’t stop. We don’t stop for no one. We won’t break.”
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