Whether it is social commentary in the lyrics of a song, or a personal post on social media, the Hip Hop community has very creative ways of weighing in on the problems that it finds important. It has been over a week since George Floyd was killed in police custody, and the outrage surrounding it has not died down. In the midst of protests and social turmoil, artists from all generations of Hip Hop have stepped forward and used their voice to help however they can. In the past, this genre of free thinkers has always spoken its mind against relevant issues to try and spark change in this country, but this instance is unique. Almost every artist alive has stopped what they are doing and directed all their attention to using their platform for reform.
On Tuesday, June 2nd, the Hip Hop community as a whole participated in #BlackoutTuesday by closing down their businesses for the day in order to help protest. Major record labels, like Shady Records and Roc Nation, shut down their daily operations in hopes of showing protesters that they are with them.
Hip Hop legend, JAY-Z, is constantly on the front lines of this battle, doing all he can to make a difference in this time. When the George Floyd case was handed off to the Minnesota Attorney General, JAY-Z showed his support for the officials trying to sort this out. His biggest contribution to the cause, so far, has been the purchasing of full-page advertisements in newspapers across the country in honor of George Floyd. This is huge because it forces people that normally look away from these kind of issues to face it head on. The ad partially reads,
“Only way we can really achieve freedom is to somehow hunker the fear of the death. But if a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live. Deep down in our nonviolent creed is the conviction — that there are some things so dear, some things so precious, some things so eternally true, that they’re worth dying for.”
Artist, J. Cole, also has taken it upon himself to help us make change. For the past week, J. Cole has been seen in his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina protesting with everyone else, acting as a beacon of hope to all that saw him. Just being there made a powerful statement that we are all in this together and no one is above these injustices that need to be rectified.
Additionally, a multitude of artists have come forward and offered their voices to fuel this ‘revolution’. Lizzo released an insightful video on Instagram saying that it is not enough to not be racist, you have to be viciously anti-racist. Travis Scott has broken his silence and spoke towards keeping this energy for the long-term so that nothing like this can happen again. Big Sean gave an emotional speech about black oppression. Nick Cannon wrote an essay on George Floyd’s death. The list doesn’t stop there, though, as it shouldn’t. We need to follow in their footsteps and do anything we can to make a difference.
By: Christian Cuciniello
