Courtesy of godermag.com
The music world is continuing to use its voice to speak out against police brutality and racial profiling – specifically fueled by the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager in Ferguson, Missouri. Brooklyn, New York’s Afropunk turned into more of an activism forum this past weekend, when booths were set up to provide information on social justice organizations, and message boards were available for people to post their sentiments on the events happening in Ferguson. Now a more national scale effort to speak out has been undertaken by the Game, who has organized a collaborative team of rappers to speak out against injustice on a song called “Don’t Shoot.”
Fourteen artists total, including Swizz Beatz, DJ Khaled, King Pharaoh, Diddy, Rick Ross, Fabolous, Problem, 2 Chainz, Yo Gotti, TGT (Tyrese, Ginuwine, Tank), Curren$y, and Wale, amass on the track, pooling their rap and R&B skills to unanimously create the musical collage “Don’t Shoot.” The Game told Rolling Stone that despite the large number of artists involved, everyone was 100% on board to make it happen. “I managed to get everyone on board fairly easy, simply because we have the hearts,” says the Game. “We care and are inclined to take a positive approach to resolving an issue that has existed since the beginning of mankind and that is racism and hatred towards one another as human beings.”
Like many songs of its genre, “Don’t Shoot” stays true to tradition, uniting Americans coast to coast to speak out against the social injustice that has been running rampant across the country of late. “The issues in Ferguson really hit home for me, and I feel compelled to use my musical platform to address this,” the Game tells Rolling Stone. “I am a black man with kids of my own that I love more than anything, and I cannot fathom a horrific tragedy like Michael Brown’s happening to them. This possibility has shaken me to my core. That is why this song must be made and why it was so easy for so many of my friends to come together and unite against the injustice.”
In the form of true public service, the Game is having all the money earned from iTunes sales of the song go towards the Justice for Mike Brown GoFundMe account. Listen to it on Soundcloud here, and purchase the track here.