Racism remains the fulcrum for the controversial shooting deaths of Black citizens by police across the country. Hip Hop fans and social media activists have been reactionary with split-second immediacy on what they have witnessed and shared on platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Rappers like The Game recently slammed the lack of activism from social media users who share their sentiments of anger and confusion on these senseless crimes.
But one of The Game’s top three favorite rappers of all-time , Rakim, feels that social media gives people a microphone they need to voice their concerns, unlike rap artists who make their living gracing stages to speak conscious reflections of reality. After a Thursday show in Cambridge, Massachusetts performing the entirety of his groundbreaking debut album Paid In Full for the anniversary of its 1987 release date, “The god MC” gave an exclusive statement to HipHopDX about the #BlackLivesMatter movement and social media activism.
“We all understand and see what’s going on,” Rakim says. “Social media gives a lot of people a platform where they can express their feelings. I like to do mine through songs. I let info build up. In some way, it translates into paper whenever I sit down.”
The “Know The Ledge” rapper also gave details on his views of the recent police murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and explained how Blacks should continue their best use of survival tactics when dealing with racial profiling from police, and law reform for police who abuse their power.
“If you’re conscious of where we’re at in life right now, with democracy, rights, and racism, and all these things, you’ll have an opinion like myself. I don’t feel that what’s going on is necessary.” Rakim continued:
“I feel that, it’s a corny word, but the first thing is we’re being stereotyped. If you look a certain way, you’re gonna get handled a certain way. It stems back to stereotyping and racism. So we gotta understand what’s going on, and avoid it as much as we can. You know, I got kids. I got sons, and I try to tell them, ‘Look, man, when you in the car and you get pulled over, hands on the steering wheel. Yes, sir. No sir. Your job is to either wind up in jail, so I can come get you, or be able to pull off. That’s your job. I’d rather come get you from the precinct, for whatever happened, instead of mouthing off or giving them any reason to use that physical abuse. So we have to be smart, but still, what they’re doing is uncalled for, and unfair, man. The laws are gonna have to change. And it’s 2016. We can’t keep using all the laws that was made back in the 1700s. We’re gonna have to understand that times have changed.”
The black o kill backbut walk inteadinteadwhy policekill black he so much in county? Is black life no imprtent? Them here no knot to do this. Policee here no knot to kill he here no value!
I’m a white dude, and you better believe when I get pulled over I’ll be doing the exact same thing Rakim tells his kids to do. I’ve been profiled when i was younger. not because of my skin color, but because the kind of car I was driving. Profiling happens for many reasons. My gf has a partially wrecked car because she cant afford to fix it right now, and she is well aware that she may get pulled over since they could assume she is a drug addict who has no money. This is how the world works; you can act like a victim or be proactive and be prepared.
Rakim is not the God emcee…dude got busy but he’s been washed every since he broke up with Eric B…..Sean Price is and will ALWAYS be the “God”
“Racism remains the fulcrum for the controversial shooting deaths of Black citizens by police across the country.” Will one day a black person admit there is such a thing as bad black people? You can’t even get condemnations for riots and looting from the majority of black celebrities and media. What is it with all these black men just now figuring out how to talk to cops? Rakim and Don Lemon and the rest of them saying “I gotta teach my kids to be polite to cops, say yes sir and no sir..” wow, really? You mean the thing the rest of society figured out to do? Are black dudes JUST NOW figuring this out and saying it like it’s this awful shameful thing?
Well. “What did I do” and I didn’t do nothing” obviously isn’t working. I adress everyone as sir and ma’am. Regardless of race and job title. Your kids don’t have to be polite to public servants because they are black? GTFOH. Being rude is the same Sa yessum Massah, because the likelihood of finding yourself in chains, and in a cage are much more likely. Dummy.
Shut the fcuk up you dindus. That Sterling guy had a marathon length criminal record.
Like the convicted felon in possession of a firearm that was resisting arrest? LOLOLOL
how come no one is talkin about Dylan Noble on here? he was white, unarmed and killed by police on June 25…. because it doesn’t fit your narrative of a prejudice to only kill unarmed black people? More whites are killed by police than any other race, period.
Very true brother. People don’t see this all for what it is. Some race baiting bullshit. ALL lives matter. Saying it is a black thing is not only inaccurate but also racist. If there was a white lives matter rally everyone would say it is racism. A 17 year old Mexican kid was shot 17 times last month in Arizona for throwing rocks at a police car. He was UNARMED and a minor. I haven’t heard anyone say anything about him. More whites and Latinos are killed by cops than blacks are. Nothing on that. Meanwhile this makes blacks scared of the police, and more likely to be paranoid and stressed which will result in the same response from law enforcement. Now some maniac racist black man shoots cops at a racist black lives matter rally, the protesters all run for cover BEHIND THE POLICE who are being victimized by a racist idiot, and no one sees the irony in all of this. Donald Trump does. This bullshit will get him elected. Then America will get a REAL dose of racism from the whitehouse and will not realize that all of this media sensationalism for ratings which translates in to money is the cause.
“how come no one is talkin about Dylan Noble on here? he was white, unarmed and killed by police on June 25…. because it doesn’t fit your narrative of a prejudice to only kill unarmed black people? More whites are killed by police than any other race, period….”
It’s this thing called disproportions. It’s the same thing used when you want to describe black violence, but somehow you negate it when discussing cop murders. The weird thing is you’re on an article about a rap god mad because he’s discussing black executions and you’re screaming “what about the white ones!” instead of doing something about it. You admit it happens, sounds like you think its wrong yet here you are trying to shout down our concerns.
Though I am sure you don’t have a pot to piss in, what little bit of privilege you have doesn’t extend to these circles. If “white lives matter” that much to you than do something about it.
Wow. All kinds of leftist vs right wing stuff. With valid points. Personally I blame the media who stands to profit they ratings, most of them are democrats and cater to democrats, so I agree overall with your point. Wether Rakim is a legend or not is not the question, anyone who knows anything about Hip-Hop will not argue with that point. I wouldn’t call any man a god. I know cats in NY have their different Muslim based beliefs and religions, movements etc. that’s whatever. I think BDK was better and no one is ever calling him God. I digress. The points this. If we are arguing that LIVES matter, putting anything before lives, white, police, black, Native American, excludes others… It is by definition, a racist idea. Lives matter. Now, everyone agrees with, but excludes from the argument, that a higher percentage any total numbers of Latino and white homicides a year are committed by the police. People ask forget to mention, conveniently, that the first of these two brothers to get killed was a felon in possession of a firearm. The argument on that one is if police had probable cause to search or not. That is something decided by courts juries and judges. I have seen it go either way in cases that made absolutely no sense to me. The police call said a large black man, standing in front of a specific location, wearing a red t-shirt selling CDs was threatening someone with a firearm. Resisting arrest or not, I thought he was personally, after all was said and done, the man shot by the police was a large black man, wearing a red tshirt with CDs he was selling standing in front of the for mentioned establishment and he did have a pistol on him. He was also a convicted felon. Had the man done what the R suggested above, he would have been taken in to custody and would be alive to sue the police department and state his case before a jury of his peers. The secon shooting will at least end up in the civil courts with the family getting paid IMO. Even if the cop did tell him to stop reaching, he had a clean record and a CCW, plus a child in the car. Dude fucked up bad. Te biggest tragedy was the man in Dallas who shot police officers at a black lives matter rally and didn’t think of how that would make cops act toward us in the future. How crazy was that guy? Also, no one sees the irony in a black man shooting police protecting a crowd at a black lives matter protest, the crowd all running to hide behind the police, and the police killing the same man with an explosive robot? WTF? And this “sniper” hit a black reporter? The world is crazy my brothers and sisters. To me this is all race baiting bullshit that will only segragate our country further. If the police are brutally murdering people, who cares what color they are, religious denomination, nationality or sexual preference. It’s just wrong.
Wow. All kinds of leftist vs right wing stuff. With valid points. Personally I blame the media who stands to profit they ratings, most of them are democrats and cater to democrats, so I agree overall with your point. Wether Rakim is a legend or not is not the question, anyone who knows anything about Hip-Hop will not argue with that point. I wouldn’t call any man a god. I know cats in NY have their different Muslim based beliefs and religions, movements etc. that’s whatever. I think BDK was better and no one is ever calling him God. I digress. The points this. If we are arguing that LIVES matter, putting anything before lives, white, police, black, Native American, excludes others… It is by definition, a racist idea. Lives matter. Now, everyone agrees with, but excludes from the argument, that a higher percentage any total numbers of Latino and white homicides a year are committed by the police. People ask forget to mention, conveniently, that the first of these two brothers to get killed was a felon in possession of a firearm. The argument on that one is if police had probable cause to search or not. That is something decided by courts juries and judges. I have seen it go either way in cases that made absolutely no sense to me. The police call said a large black man, standing in front of a specific location, wearing a red t-shirt selling CDs was threatening someone with a firearm. Resisting arrest or not, I thought he was personally, after all was said and done, the man shot by the police was a large black man, wearing a red tshirt with CDs he was selling standing in front of the for mentioned establishment and he did have a pistol on him. He was also a convicted felon. Had the man done what the R suggested above, he would have been taken in to custody and would be alive to sue the police department and state his case before a jury of his peers. The secon shooting will at least end up in the civil courts with the family getting paid IMO. Even if the cop did tell him to stop reaching, he had a clean record and a CCW, plus a child in the car. Dude fucked up bad. Te biggest tragedy was the man in Dallas who shot police officers at a black lives matter rally and didn’t think of how that would make cops act toward us in the future. How crazy was that guy? Also, no one sees the irony in a black man shooting police protecting a crowd at a black lives matter protest, the crowd all running to hide behind the police, and the police killing the same man with an explosive robot? WTF? And this “sniper” hit a black reporter? The world is crazy my brothers and sisters. To me this is all race baiting bullshit that will only segragate our country further. If the police are brutally murdering people, who cares what color they are, religious denomination, nationality or sexual preference. It’s just wrong.
Wow. All kinds of leftist vs right wing stuff. With valid points. Personally I blame the media who stands to profit they ratings, most of them are democrats and cater to democrats, so I agree overall with your point. Wether Rakim is a legend or not is not the question, anyone who knows anything about Hip-Hop will not argue with that point. I wouldn’t call any man a god. I know cats in NY have their different Muslim based beliefs and religions, movements etc. that’s whatever. I think BDK was better and no one is ever calling him God. I digress. The points this. If we are arguing that LIVES matter, putting anything before lives, white, police, black, Native American, excludes others… It is by definition, a racist idea. Lives matter. Now, everyone agrees with, but excludes from the argument, that a higher percentage any total numbers of Latino and white homicides a year are committed by the police. People ask forget to mention, conveniently, that the first of these two brothers to get killed was a felon in possession of a firearm. The argument on that one is if police had probable cause to search or not. That is something decided by courts juries and judges. I have seen it go either way in cases that made absolutely no sense to me. The police call said a large black man, standing in front of a specific location, wearing a red t-shirt selling CDs was threatening someone with a firearm. Resisting arrest or not, I thought he was personally, after all was said and done, the man shot by the police was a large black man, wearing a red tshirt with CDs he was selling standing in front of the for mentioned establishment and he did have a pistol on him. He was also a convicted felon. Had the man done what the R suggested above, he would have been taken in to custody and would be alive to sue the police department and state his case before a jury of his peers. The secon shooting will at least end up in the civil courts with the family getting paid IMO. Even if the cop did tell him to stop reaching, he had a clean record and a CCW, plus a child in the car. Dude fucked up bad. Te biggest tragedy was the man in Dallas who shot police officers at a black lives matter rally and didn’t think of how that would make cops act toward us in the future. How crazy was that guy? Also, no one sees the irony in a black man shooting police protecting a crowd at a black lives matter protest, the crowd all running to hide behind the police, and the police killing the same man with an explosive robot? WTF? And this “sniper” hit a black reporter? The world is crazy my brothers and sisters. To me this is all race baiting bullshit that will only segragate our country further. If the police are brutally murdering people, who cares what color they are, religious denomination, nationality or sexual preference. It’s just wrong.
how donald trump is the only one who cares about your country you stay getting swindled by democrats why do you think this whole blm is going on because of brainwashed leftists the dreamer globalist party. everything the right has been warning about is coming true the lefts attempt to start a race war which is pretty much going on now in the united states in the cold stages. A further violation of your freedom of speech rights and 2nd amendment. and the snickering from the whole leftist media about the right. calling everyone with opposing views an idiot and attempting to eliminate free thought in a follow the leader style
how donald trump is the only one who cares about your country you stay getting swindled by democrats why do you think this whole blm is going on because of brainwashed leftists the dreamer globalist party. everything the right has been warning about is coming true the lefts attempt to start a race war which is pretty much going on now in the united states in the cold stages. A further violation of your freedom of speech rights and 2nd amendment. and the snickering from the whole leftist media about the right. calling everyone with opposing views an idiot and attempting to eliminate free thought in a follow the leader style
Rakim I understand our mindset with those comments. But the whole point is, why should black men live in costant fear of the police? Why do we have to be trembling and saying yes sir, no sir? We might as well start saying “yes Massa” while we’re at it. Is that what we want, back to slavery and bowing down in fear. No black people should feel like police are there to protect and serve them like any other citizen. Not fear. We should not allow a police state of fear. This the whole point. We need a change to living in freedom, dignity and no fear.
we are fighting so your sons dont have to wonder if theyll get home alive when pulled over and when meeting a cop.
so you want them to pull you over and say,”how can I serve you today?” …if the police pull you over then you prob did something wrong, even if its minor, or appeared to. If you did nothing wrong then youll likely be ok. of course theres an exception to every rule. some cops are bad cops and are itching to take their frustration out on someone. Now, Even if you did nothing wrong, but they run your plate (which they do before they approach your vehicle) and they see you have a warrant, tons of prior tickets, or are a habitual offender, then thy are going to walk up to your car with some hesitation/caution. If you are that guy and are too dumb to realize that and then you mouth off, then dont be surpised when things go sideways.
Why should a cop working in crime laden areas be worried that the person they pull over may be a felon carrying drugs and would rather shoot and get away than get arrested? because it happens! cops wanna go home to their kids just like anyone else.
If a white guy goes walking thru a predominantly black area, there is a good chance they may get harassed or robbed. Why is that? Because these things go both ways, but no one wants to address that. its only black people who are victims.
Same case for a black guy walking thru a predominantly white area. And had race relations been intact, and not destroyed by years of oppression, i’m certain a white guy walking thru the “hood” would have no cause for concern. And since you wanna go that route, that same “white guy” wouldn’t be harassed in every predominantly black neighborhood, just some that are “itching to take their frustration out on someone”. If a cop is afraid to police a certain neighborhood due to whatever reason, especially lack of experience with the locals, then that cop should request a transfer, or consider another profession. i do agree with the mouthing off, but citizens should be treated with respect, regardless of the situation, and vice versa.
I don’t know where any of you guys live. I am white and grew up in LA. I have had friends in LA that live in Inglewood and Compton (predominantly black neighborhoods) and East L.A. (mainly Latino), I have never had ANY problems. I have had gangbangers ask me where I am from before (what gang I represent) , when I tell them I don’t bang, it’s all love. I have hung out all over smoking blunts, drinking, hitting up parties, I’ve never had any issues. If you walk around scared, or like you don’t fit in, cops and locals will notice you. Act like a grown man or woman, respect people’s neighborhood and go about your business, you won’t have any problems. All of this race baiting bullshit will create some real problems for our kids and future.
I don’t know where any of you guys live. I am white and grew up in LA. I have had friends in LA that live in Inglewood and Compton (predominantly black neighborhoods) and East L.A. (mainly Latino), I have never had ANY problems. I have had gangbangers ask me where I am from before (what gang I represent) , when I tell them I don’t bang, it’s all love. I have hung out all over smoking blunts, drinking, hitting up parties, I’ve never had any issues. If you walk around scared, or like you don’t fit in, cops and locals will notice you. Act like a grown man or woman, respect people’s neighborhood and go about your business, you won’t have any problems. All of this race baiting bullshit will create some real problems for our kids and future.
Rakim summed it up so well in “sound of da police”
I mean KRS One “sound of da police”
@yo
3. Blacks are more likely to kill cops than be killed by cops. This is according to FBI data, which also found that 40 percent of cop killers are black. According to Statistics, the police officer is 18.5 times more likely to be killed by a black than a cop killing an unarmed black person.
Despite the facts, the anti-police rhetoric of Black Lives Matter has resulted in what Many call the “Ferguson Effect,” as murders have spiked by 17 percent among the 50 biggest cities in the U.S. as a result of cops being more reluctant to police neighborhoods out of fear of being labeled as racists. Additionally, there have been over twice as many cops victimized by fatal shootings in the first three months of 2016.
That’s a bald face ignorant toothless methhead lie.
2. More whites and Hispanics die from police homicides than blacks. According to compiled data, 12 percent of white and Hispanic homicide deaths were due to police officers, while only four percent of black homicide deaths were the result of police officers. “If we’re going to have a ‘Lives Matter’ anti-police movement, it would be more appropriately named “White and Hispanic Lives Matter.”
1. Cops killed nearly twice as many whites as blacks in 2015. According to data compiled by The Washington Post, 50 percent of the victims of fatal police shootings were white, while 26 percent were black. The majority of these victims had a gun or “were armed or otherwise threatening the officer with potentially lethal force.”Some may argue that these statistics are evidence of racist treatment toward blacks, since whites consist of 62 percent of the population and blacks make up 12 percent of the population. But as To a The Wall Street Journal article, 2009 statistics from the Bureau of Justice Statistics reveal that blacks were charged with 62 percent of robberies, 57 percent of murders and 45 percent of assaults in the 75 biggest counties in the country, despite only comprising roughly 15 percent of the population in these counties
He’s no slim Jesus
what can you do when they’re charged with 62 percent of robberies, 57 percent of murders and 45 percent of assaults in the 75 biggest counties in the country, despite only comprising roughly 15 percent of the population. What is a nation to do? Completely ignore it and hope it goes away? Find a white person on twitter who said something stupid and get them fired? Where are the real solutions that don’t involve screaming WAAAAAAAAAACIST?
better yet how many other black people were shot or killed somehow questionably the same night as George?
So… 60% of the inmates and 50% of the murders are done by 13% of the populous. They should get an equal amount of attention for said hard work? Kind of irrational, no?
Well, these morons have officially done it. Over 75% of Americans now want the protests to stop and for all violent protestors to be arrested. Now over 95% of the country is saying that the police are being TOO SOFT and not protecting the public or their property. Now people actually WANT the police militarized and violent. What a bunch of fucking idiots. Now the police will be WORSE than before, legally, and there will be a new influx of young men and women catching felonies and doing time in PRISON. I don’t think ANY of these radical protestors (who are mainly white) have thought this through. When you end up in prison, are you going to cozy on up to the Aryans and tell them you were locked up for supporting BLM? LOL. All of this fake victim mentality shit has officially back fired. People see it for what it is. Bullshit. A man was murdered by an incompetent, idiot cop. There is NO evidence that he wouldn’t have done the same to a white or Latino man.
Racist white American rap fans is wot u are…. children of the KKK behind keyboards