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The Reverend Al Sharpton is sticking up for Hip-Hop culture, saying that it isn’t to blame for what happened to Takeoff as some have speculated in the wake of his death.
As many are still mourning the murder of the member of Migos in Houston, Texas last week, some are putting the blame on Hip-Hop. But Rev. Al Sharpton disagrees with that take. “First of all, no one has been more anti-gun violence and saying that we need to deal with things than Hip-Hop,” he said to a reporter from TMZ outside of the NBC Studios in New York on Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 9).
The long-time civil rights activist continued: “I remember growing up R&B artists used to get into shootouts and get into fights. This is nothing new.” Rev. Sharpton expressed that due to social media’s hold on society, you have many more people that are aware of these incidents in real-time as opposed to in the past. He’s been someone who has distinct and deep ties to the community, with one example being asked to deliver the eulogy at the funeral of the late Hip-Hop legend Biz Markie last year.
Rev. Sharpton would then go on to highlight the good that many in Hip-Hop culture have been doing and continue to do for the community. “You have a lot of people in Hip-Hop that are very creative, very responsible, and help their community,” he said. “We should not act like Hip-Hop is synonymous with violence. Those that are violent, we ought to deal with.”
The reverend would end by saying: “A thug is a thug whether they’re singing jazz, R&B, or singing gospel. I know some preachers packing.” The MSNBC host and analyst expressed his condolences to Takeoff’s family and said he hadn’t had the chance to confirm if he would be attending the funeral services which are to be held at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday, (Nov. 11).
Check out the interview with the Reverend Al Sharpton below.
