A Minneapolis Police Department precinct was torched by protestors on Thursday (May 28) as tensions mount over the police killing of 46-year-old George Floyd.
Tear gas was expelled in downtown Denver as rioters smashed in the windows of Colorado State Troopers’ vehicles. The 101 Freeway in Los Angeles was shut down by a mob of people, bringing traffic to an abrupt halt. A California Highway Patrol car was swarmed by dozens of protestors in an attempt to stop the officer from moving forward.
In Columbus, Ohio, police deployed pepper spray as the number of protestors continued to grow. Stores were looted, pawn shops set on fire and local buildings were littered with graffiti that read, “Justice For George Floyd.” These are just a few of the scenes that erupted across the United States this week in the wake of Floyd’s death.
Adding fuel to the fire was Donald Trump who tweeted on Thursday night, “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control, but when the looting starts, the shooting starts!”
Twitter ultimately flagged the tweet for “glorifying violence,” which infuriated Trump.
But the anger from the Hip Hop community and beyond is much more palpable. Floyd is yet another name added to the ever-evolving list of black men and women killed by white police officers.
A viral video of the incident shows the moment Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin puts his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck as he repeatedly shouts, “I can’t breathe!” Although he was taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center, he was ultimately pronounced dead.
All four officers have been fired but no charges have been filed. According to CNN, prosecutors still haven’t moved to file. In a press conference, Hennepin County attorney Michael Freeman said there’s evidence that doesn’t support a criminal charge.
“It is a violation of my ethics to talk and evaluate evidence before we announce our charging decision,” he said. “And I will not do that. I will say this, that video is graphic and horrific and terrible and no person should do that. But my job in the end is to prove he violated a criminal statute.
“And there is other evidence that does not support a criminal charge. We need to wade through all of that evidence and come to a meaningful decision and we are doing that to the best of our ability.”
Ice Cube, Chuck D, Ice-T, Redman, Thundercat and Common are among the many hitting social media with their commentary.
On Friday (May 29) Killer Mike gave a heartfelt speech in his hometown of Atlanta addressing the situation between protesters and the local police department. Mike teared up during the speech as he showed his support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Check out Hip Hop’s reactions below.
I hope the family gets the justice they deserve.
wow shout out to the author. only site i seen calling this riots.
Race riot
Lol bunch of great community leaders here
Your own site dedicated to those “great community leaders”.
*You’re on
Salut to Common, Snoop, Jamie Foxx, Russel Simmons and Co for their efforts in taking a stance against the racially motivated Police killing of George Floyd. Unfortunately, these guys only represent a fraction of those in the hip-hop game. We want to see more come forward, particularly those from other states than those stated above. We also want hip-hop to use its talents and gifts give us soundtrack to the protest as we continue to rally. The whole country must be on notice.
You dont know it was racially motivated. Probably, but you cant assume shit because that’s what you think happened.
Disgusting white people, just like little dick eminem, disgusting.
Hahaha. Someone is a convicted felon who never met his dad.
geez you ain’t seen or heard nothing when it comes to south Africa.
CNN reporter getting arrested is both terrifying and hilarious. Police don’t know what is going on, the people dont know that setting fires to local businesses is not going to help at all. What a mess.
so we have lost a brother by the hands of murderous police. there has already been justice for him he is no longer with us but people who are outraged should also be reassured that justice has been done by the prosecution of the police officers involved. remember, it is the media who make or break this shit. what has happened happens every day, so it is the media who want to divide us. throw a Molotov at cnn tower.
Every one of these clowns are comfortable in their mansions.. i remember macklemore on the front linee in ferguson. Fuck all of you
Its really sad to see only a handful of rappers in hip hop speaking up for George Floyd. Hip Hop was made for black people by black people but yet only a few voices speaking up. We are dealing with something bigger than covid-19 and you can do is sit there with your mouth closed. I guess we know whos pulling the strings in Hip Hop and it damn sure ain’t the black man. Matter of fact the whole entertainment industry is quiet is a disapointment.
The whole entertainment industry has been protesting from their mansions. 100,000 people died from Covid 19. 235 black men were killed by the police in 2019 in the ENTIRE United States of America. 4 of those shootings were deemed questionable. This is NOWHERE NEAR as bad as Covid 19. Your math is ridiculous buddy. The entertainment music is run by business men. Most record labels owned by people from their “community” are seriously criminal. Suge Knight? Diddy? Baby? J. Prince? Almost all of those people have discarded talented artists, ripped them off or had them killed. Name one person at Interscope that can be accused of such things! The cops in Chicago shot and killed 26 people last year. 18 of them were black. 475 black men were murdered by other black men in Chicago last year. Thousands were injured. What I’m any of this is bigger than Covid 19? You didn’t pay much attention in school, did you? SMH.
Listen there are people on this board trying to distort reality.
Fans criticising rappers in the industry for not speaking are delusional. Rappers do a lot for their communities they are not ibliged to share it with you. Who are you? You should be pointing the finger at president and 6ix9ine. We have heard nothing from the most powerful man in America and funny haired Mexican who profits out of hip hop culture.
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