Rappers Participate in Protests for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and More
Members of the hip-hop community are not taking the recent killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor lightly. In fact, some of them are taking physical action and hitting the streets to protest amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Following the death of George Floyd, who was killed by former Minneapolis, Minn. police officer Derek Chauvin while being detained, protests supporting the Black Lives Matter movement have taken place this week in numerous states to condemn the police officers responsible for Floyd's murder and to demand justice for his family. Bun B, Trae Tha Truth, Nick Cannon and Mysonne have all traveled to the Midwestern city to join other protesters fighting for change.
On Thursday (May 28), Mysonne uploaded video footage to Instagram, which shows him walking in the streets of Minneapolis while standing with and supporting fellow protestors. On Friday (May 29), Bun posted a photo with Trae and Mysonne, along with a caption that said, "We go where we’re needed. #RIPBigFloyd."
Nick was at ground zero too, standing in support of the people, while "Minnesota" rapper Lil Yachty protested in Atlanta.
Demonstrations in Minneapolis, which resulted in establishments being set ablaze, looting and protestors getting arrested, began shortly after Floyd's death. Protests have also taken place in New York City, Atlanta and a host of other cities.
J. Cole participated in a protest in his hometown of Fayetteville, N.C. In nearby Raleigh, N.C., Brand Nubian rapper Sadat X was in the mix at a justice rally.
Wale and Lil TJay were masked up in Los Angeles standing shoulder to shoulder with demonstrators. Machine Gun Kelly also joined in the fight for justice as well as Swae Lee.
Not everyone's experience has gone swimmingly. Chika was detained and got a ticket for her participation in a rally. After her release, she recalled the harrowing ordeal on her Instagram page, detailing the chaos and violence she says was mostly instigated by the police who were on hand.
"Today was not a riot. Today was peaceful until police began beating and targeting protestors," Chika captioned clip. "Nobody deserved to be arrested or detained."
YG also participated in the Black Lives Matter Los Angeles protest alongside the movement's co-founder Patrisse Cullors and the Bld Pwr organization on. There, the over 100,000 protesters in attendance sang along to his record "FTP."
According to The New York Times, four days after video footage surfaced on the internet of George Floyd being pinned to the ground with Chauvin's knee on his neck for nearly 10 minutes, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced that the former officer, who was fired after the killing went viral, was arrested on Friday (May 29) and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. It's unclear if the other three officers who were on the scene when the incident took place will be charged as well.
Weeks later, rappers traveled to Kentucky to seek justice for Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician who was killed by police officers in her home. Taylor was fatally shot just after 1 a.m. on March 13 by three officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department—Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and officers Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove—who were serving a "no-knock" warrant while conducting a narcotics investigation prior to the shooting.
Protestors, including YBN Cordae, Trae Tha Truth and Mysonne, set up shop on the front lawn of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron home, demanding that the officers responsible for Taylor's death be arrested.
Cordae was arrested and charged with intimidating a participant in legal process, disorderly conduct (second degree) and criminal trespassing (third degree). Trae Tha Truth and Mysonne were arrested as well.
See more rappers who are joining in the nationwide protests below.
J. Cole
Kanye West
Kendrick Lamar
YG
Lil Baby
Wale
Lil Yachty
Lil Tjay
Chika
Swae Lee
Bow Wow
Mysonne
Bun B, Trae Tha Truth and Mysonne
Trae Tha Truth
YBN Cordae
Vic Mensa
Ludacris
Machine Gun Kelly
Sadat X
Sauce Walka
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