The fiber of the American people has been tested over the course of the last two weeks, in which four incidents of terrible violence have prompted wide-spread protests and rapidly deteriorating race relations.
July 5: Alton Sterling is shot and killed at the hands of two police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
July 6: Philando Castile is shot and killed by a police officer in Falcon Heights, Minnesota
July 7: Five police officers are shot and killed at a protest in Dallas.
July 17: Three police officers are shot and killed in Baton Rouge, LA.
Hip hop artists have responded to these events in a variety of ways. Click through the gallery to see the varying mediums in and tones with which they've reacted.
Protest songs
The Alton Sterling and Philando Castile killings sparked numerous protest songs. The best was DJ Greg Street's "I Am Somebody" with Big K.R.I.T., B.o.B., Akon, & Jesse Jackson urging listeners to stay strong in the pursuit of peace.
Lupe Fiasco shares thoughtful Twitter take
Of all the reactions to the murder of five police officers in Dallas, Lupe Fiasco's may have been the most compelling (which makes the fact the fact that he deleted his tweets all the more mysterious). Lupe explained his predicament caught inbetween two worlds -- the side of his family with a tradition of entering the police force, and the side of his family where everyone has a criminal record. Read below:
To my fans,
No matter what color you are please don't allow yourselves to be enveloped in this new vicarious fear that was born last night
Some of you will see it as a sign of pride and that "get back" that Huey and them was talking about and see it as a justice served.
Some of you will see it as a lens to see black people at a distance through & as confirmation of a weak prejudice lurking maybe now revealed
I have 2 brothers and 1 sister who are all active police officers and my father was at one point a state police deputy for illinois.
On the other side about 95% of my friends & family have criminal records both federal and state. Currently serving time or recently released
1 day my sister is asking me to borrow an AR-15 to start tactical training & another day one of the homeys needs a pistol cuz he got into it
I walk on both sides. And whenever something happens like this I always talk to two people, my sister the detective & my partner the convict
My partner says he always has to remind the murderers he's locked up with that they are in jail for killing black people too.
Me and my sister talk about police protocol, crime in general, quotas, use of force, traffic stops and miscellaneous police politics.
I'm caught somewhere in the middle. 1 day trying to talk RondoNumba9 into staying in school and telling his friends to make sure he does
The next day I'm at the gun store talking to my friends who work there about police officers who know nothing about how to handle guns.
I've never liked a person who lacked compassion and even worse is a person who intellectualizes his lack of compassion.
Jay Z shares TIDAL playlist
Hov dropped a playlist on TIDAL called "Songs For Survival." It's a great playlist of songs new and old that doubled as a bald-faced attempt to use tragedy to promote his streaming platform.
The Game & Snoop Dogg kickstart H.U.N.T. campaign
Two Fridays ago, The Game and Snoop (and Problem) led a peaceful march to the LAPD HQ, where they met with police officers, the police commissioner, and the mayor to discuss law enforcement-citizen relations.
That was phase one of their new campaign H.U.N.T., which stands for "Hate Us Not Today." The second phase occurred yesterday, when they teamed up with the Nation of Islam and Minister Farrakhan to host a citywide forum that specifically called for the presence of gang leaders in the greater Los Angeles area. The goal of the summit was to unite men from opposing gangs in an effort to bring forth solutions about putting an end to violence within the black and brown communities.
Snoop Dogg and The Game host peaceful rally in Los Angeles pic.twitter.com/FOmpITcILr
Boosie weighs in on violence in his hometown of Baton Rouge
Hometown hero Boosie Badazz offered a pair of level-headed takes regarding the violence in Baton Rogue, one after each incident.
The first: Alton Sterling is dead, and Boosie is none too optimistic about the future. "It will never be peace," he told his Snapchat followers. "Because you got too many lives that have been taken. All you can do is try to diffuse the situation. It’s too far gone," he said, but did offer a possible means to progress. I think what would slow the cops down from doing what they doing is if they start getting convicted and getting life sentences, double-life sentences, like we get if we kill somebody."
He shared a candid statement on the Dallas shootings, which had occurred two days prior. "I aint into cops being killed, I aint with all that. But cops getting away with murder. They in they prime right now," he said.
The second: Three Baton Rouge police officers are dead. In an interview with TMZ, Boosie was urgent in his message that the cop responsible for Sterling's death isn't indicted, strained racial tensions will only worsen. "If that guy don't get indicted and sent to prison for life," Boosie said, "It's gonna be another one. It's gonna be another shooting."
Given that police are virtually immune from prosecution in such cases, it doesn't look good.
Kevin Gates weighs in on violence in his hometown of Baton Rouge...
Gates had the worst take of just about anyone in regard to the Baton Rouge violence. In a series of Instagram posts, several of which have been deleted, he asserted that he would kill any police officer that laid a finger on any of his family members and saluted the ex-marine who "stood up" for what he believed was right.
“Bitch, your whole family gon' die, instantly,” Gates said. “I’ll set it. A nigga disrespect my son, slap him, touch him, scratch him, whatever, your family gon' die instantly. Ain’t no ifs, ands, or buts.”
“I’m not against black people, I’m not against white people," he continued. "I stand for what’s right. Bunch of niggas jumping around hoopin’ and hollerin’ ain’t right. But if we gonna go to war, let’s go to war, cause I’m gonna go to war for what’s right. My wife, five months pregnant, pulled out the car by police for no reason, handcuffed in 40-degree weather. That wasn't right. And I made a vow to her, bae, that’ll never happen to us again. Never in life.'”
He concluded by saluting the ex-marine for "keeping it G." “How they stood up in Baton Rogue, I can salute that," he said. "Keep it G with me, that's all I ask of you."
Beyonce encourages fans to contact their local legislator
Beyonce's team released a sharply worded statement following the Sterling and Castile killings that included a link for fans to contact their local legislator.
“We are sick and tired of the killings of young men and women in our communities," it opens. "It is up to us to take a stand and demand that they 'stop killing us.' We don't need sympathy. We need people to respect our lives."
.@Beyonce with a message after the murders of #AltonSterling & #PhilandoCastile pic.twitter.com/4loyddkJBt
Gucci Mane announces he'll headline "Stop the Violence" benefit concert
GuWop has been owning headlines since his glorious return from prison six weeks ago. One of the the lesser Gucci-related headlines was the announcement that he will headline a Gucci Mane & Friends concert in Mississippi on September 24th for an "All Lives Matter" event. (Draw your own conclusions from that.)
A portion of the proceeds will go to the families of Sterling and Castile. Ticket info --> here.
ScHoolboy Q shares emotionally charged lyrics from then-unreleased "Neva CHange"
Most people agree that Q's new album is pretty great. One crucial stretch of the album rollout, however, was less great. The Sterling and Castile killings occurred in the days immediately before the album was set to drop; then, on the day the album dropped, one of his friends was handed down a life sentence in jail.
Q coped and helped us cope with the senseless violence by sharing the lyrics from the second verse of "Neva CHange," which had yet to be released at the time.
Still are motive be commas
And still my life isn't promised
Still nervous as drivers
You see tHem ligHts get beHind us
THey pull me out for my priors
Wont let me freeze for tHey fire
You say tHat footage a liar
THey want my flow in tHe dryer
Im at tHe top aimin HigHer
My lawyers stay on retainer
WHen wHite folks point tHe finger
Place my neck on tHat Hanger
SHit no wonder we riot
Niggas still killin niggas
CHild support killin niggas
Cops enslaven us niggas
Little girls killin motHers
THey treat tHey kid like a brotHa
FatHers stuck witH tHem lifers
Kept it real wit us niggas
But left His kid for da sucks
SHit no wonder we bang
Damn sHame mane
sometHings will neva cHange
I just watched the #philandocastile video. Shaking. And she's still calling this "officer" sir the whole time. https://t.co/fotX2Uh5ay