It was almost odd to see the Internets thrash Kendrick Lamar, a favorite among rap stans, last week after he commented on Black people dying at the hands of police and even asked “when we don’t have respect for ourselves, how do we expect them to respect us?”
But he returns today Kendrick returns “Heaven Help Dem,” a politically charged track by Canadian artist Jonathan Emile.
To many, the Compton rapper’s statements were negligent and an issue separate from a consistency in American history that’s at the root of Michael Brown and Eric Garner losing their lives to law enforcement.
Emile’s roots above the U.S. border has no bearing on his understanding of issues plaguing Blacks in the States. In turn, he delivers lyrics that mention the names of the aforementioned teen and man, as well as Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo and more.
K. Dot keeps his bars homegrown and neighborhood-inspired.
“He woke up brushed his teeth then jumped in the shower/ Stared at the mirror after he dried his face with a towel/ And said, ‘This can be the day I might pass away/ From a altercation my homie got into yesterday/ Or mistaken identity him thinking I was his enemy/ When I never seen him a day in my life’/ This is life for a young black man/ With his future and his burner in his hand.”
Peep a visual stream for “Heaven Help Dem” below. Let us know if Kendrick’s words are too little, too late in the comments.
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Photo: YouTube
