TIP wrote and performed a spoken word poem entitled “United We Stand” for the 2015 Triumph Awards. The show is scheduled to air tomorrow (October 3) on TV One, according to Rolling Stone.
The Atlanta rapper performs surrounded by members of the Youth Ensemble of Atlanta. The poem criticizes the use of social media when real social change is not enacted.
“United we stand because we created a hashtag for Sandra Bland,” he says. “Jumped off the front of the ship and dove into the internet waves swimming with DMs, likes and comments / Not noticing how much that it makes us slaves / Chained by a man-made device small enough to fit into the palm of our hand / Guess that’s what’s made it easy to swipe to the left, scroll to the next and forget about Sandra Bland / United we stand because we wore hoodies and tshirts that read ‘Black Lives Matter’ but, ‘Quick homie take this flick, gotta make sure all my followers see this fresh fit’ / Are we really about the movement or more concerned with our follower count growing fatter?”
He ends by naming victims of violence, many of the cases involved police.
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“We are Trayvon Martin / We are Jordan Davis / We are Eric Garner / We are Tamir rice / We are Walter Scott We are Eric Harris / We are Freddie Gray / And We are Sandra Bland / United we stand.”
The rapper formerly known as T.I. released “New National Anthem” last year addressing injustices in America.
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