Lil Baby is on the verge of dropping another anthem, this time tackling police brutality amidst more protest in his hometown, Atlanta.
Trap music superstar Lil Baby is the latest rapper to fire off anti-police lyrics in response to George Floyd’s death. Since Floyd’s passing, the racially charged climate in the US has produced varying global reactions to an issue that, unfortunately, is neither new or unique. Creativity is one remedy against despondency, and in the aftermath of the killing, Lil Baby has picked up his pen against the anger and agitation.
Listed by the NMPA (National Music Publishers Association) as the biggest songwriter in the US in Q1 with 22 certifications, he uses the outlet to point out the culprits in an unchecked, perpetuated system.
“I find it crazy that police will shoot you and know that you dead, but then tell you to freeze It’s ****ed up, I seen what I seen, I guess that means hold him down if he say he can’t breathe There’s too many mothers that’s grieving…,” Baby raps.
Shared via Instagram stories, there’s no official release date, but the track will undoubtedly be received well, as anti-oppression, resistance mainstays such as “F*** tha Police” by N.W.A and “They Don’t Care About Us” by Michael Jackson have seen a streaming surge. Musicians are typically upheld as social beacons, and this is an excellent use of the platform by the young star whose album currently sits at #2 on the Billboard charts.
Rappers Nick Cannon and LL Cool J have also penned powerful pieces in response to the tragedy, delivered with teary-eyed intensity on social media. Having lived closely with the realities, rappers frequently confront systemic racism in their music including Common, whose track Letter to the Free echoes Lil Baby’s observations that the police and legal system are the main perpetrators of the pain.
Lil Baby has a new song on the way about police brutality. pic.twitter.com/PRP5MbVqh0
— Lil Baby Fan Page ? (@LilBabyRaps) June 4, 2020
“Institution ain’t just a building/But a method of having black and brown bodies fill them/We ain’t seen as human beings with feelings/Will the U.S. ever be us? Lord willing!/For now we know, the new Jim Crow/They stop, search and arrest our souls,” Common raps.
