Koffee issued a powerful statement on the killing of George Floyd.
The entertainment community continues to speak out against the unjust killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands and knees of a white police officer. Among the celebrities in the reggae/dancehall community responding to Floyd’s death is Koffee, who issued a statement on Saturday night. The 20-year-old reggae sensation rallied the troops to unite and fight against oppression and injustice affecting black people all over the world for decades.
“As we witness the constant injustice towards our brothers and sisters, we must stand together,” Koffee wrote. “I may be young, but I can fully feel the weight of the decades of oppression and abuse towards not only Black Americans, but Black people all over the world. Let George Floyd’s life be not in vein. We must fight for freedom and fight against injustice. We are all in this together. None of us are free until all of us are free. #georgefloyd.”
Other reggae stars who have reacted to George Floyd’s death include Ziggy Marley, Buju Banton, Shaggy, and Spragga Benz.
While racially motivated killings like George Floyd has been happening for years, his name will perhaps etch in our minds for generations to come. His cry for help while struggling to breathe as police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for almost 10 minutes left many of us shook and angry. This may help explain the widespread and often violent protests across the United States for the past several days.
Perhaps this can serve as inspirations for artistes like Koffee to keep putting out positive and uplifting music. There is never a time when authentic reggae music is more relevant than now, as so eloquently expressed by Bob Marley’s son, Ziggy Marley, on Twitter.
“People often ask what is the babylon that we reference in music+words,” Ziggy tweeted. “The unnecessary, unwarranted killing of #georgefloyd and the systems that continually perpetuate and justify the abuse of people of African ascent in America is the perfect example of what BABYLON represents.
