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Musicians respond to Ferguson Injustice
RnB/Hip Hop | Tuesday 25th November 2014 | Matt
Since his 2012 release, R.A.P Music, Killer Mike has emerged as one of the most eloquent and powerful speakers on social justice in modern Hip-Hop, and last night before a Run The Jewels show in St. Louis he delivered his most affecting and emotionally charged discourse yet on the killing of Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager shot dead by police in August. Last night's not guilty verdict for officer Darren Wilson has sparked outrage among citizens of Ferguson, Missouri, and many took to the streets to vent their anger, resulting in one of the worst riots of America's recent past.
In the clip, Mike's voice cracks as he talks about his fear for his own sons in the wake of the decision. He reflected: "It is not about race, it is not about class, it is not about colour. It is about what they killed him for, it is about poverty, it is about greed and it is about a war machine." Watch the video below.
Other musicians have also rallied around Ferguson as a point of principle, with Q-Tip of Tribe Called Quest leading chants of "Hands up! Don't Shoot!" and "Whose Streets? Our Streets!" in a march through New York's Times Square.
Up and coming artist Tink has also shared her new track, the Timbaland produced 'Tell the Children'. Dark and brooding, 'Tell the Children' is a hard-hitting attack on racism and police brutality in today's America.
More artists are sure to enter the discussion in the coming months, although for now the message is clear: the mutual trust between officers and citizens is eroding fast. America must address the issue of rampant police brutality sooner rather than later, and in far stronger terms than it has so far been able to muster.
