George Floyd
Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington, and Denzel Curry Throw It Down on New Protest Song “PIG FEET”: Stream
Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington (Debi Del Grande), and Denzel Curry (Cat Miller) Protests are sweeping the nation from coast to coast following the murder of George Floyd, who died while in Minneapolis police custody last week. To express their own rage over police brutality, and the systemic racism in America that allows it, Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington, and Denzel Curry have joined forces on a new single called “PIG FEET”. Producer Martin and saxophonist Washington deliver arrangements of frenetic, and sometimes clashing, jazz to mirror the present-day chaos of this country. Curry, meanwhile, recounts a tale too often told by young blacks. “Helicopters over my balcony/ If the police can’t harass, they wanna smoke every ounce of me,” the Florida-bred MC says. “You tell me life’s a ...
System of a Down’s Serj Tankian to President Trump: “Run Donny Run Into Your Bunker”
Members of System of a Down have posted strong reactions to the protests and rioting going on in response to the death of George Floyd. Singer Serj Tankian focuses his anger on President Trump, while drummer John Dolmayan is calling out celebrities for supporting looters and violent rioters. Multiple cities are experiencing daily protests, riots, and looting in reaction to Floyd’s death under custody of the Minneapolis police officers, and reports have come out that President Trump took shelter in a White House bunker while violence erupted in Washington, D.C. Seeing those headlines, Tankian took to Instagram to ridicule the president and express his feelings on the protests: “Run Donny run into your bunker. You may be the first US President to do so out of fear of your own citizens. A rea...
SPIN to Observe Music Industry Blackout on Tuesday
The past week has witnessed a world-historical boiling point for unrest in America. Following George Floyd’s death at the hands of a police officer, people have been confronted with issues that have been around since this country was born. In conjunction with the rest of the music industry, SPIN will be honoring the blackout and will not be publishing any new stories or new interviews on June 2. We stand with our fellow publishers, artists, labels, managers, publicists and other organizations honoring the blackout and stand with the African-American community in the fight against racism, bigotry and violence. We will use the moment to reflect and respect what’s going on in society, and we can be part of the solution to help end racial inequality in the United States. We also enco...
Michael Jordan Releases Statement Regarding George Floyd And Civil Uprising In America
Source: Charlotte Observer / Getty One of the greatest athletes and cultural icons of all time has used the power of his global voice. #23 aka Michael Jordan is speaking out against racism and discrimination. As spotted on Bossip, Air Jordan is also seeing the country unravel due to police brutality. The Chicago Bulls legend has released a formal statement detailing his frustration. “I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry,” he said. “I see and feel everyone’s pain, outrage and frustration. I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people in our country. We have had enough.” MJ continued to urge people to move with love. “We must listen to each other, show compassion and empathy and never turn our backs on senseless brutality. We n...
Fiona Apple Joins Black Lives Matter Protest in Santa Monica
Like thousands across America and even overseas, Fiona Apple took to the streets this past weekend to rail against racism and the murder of unarmed black man George Floyd. On Sunday, Apple figuratively fetched the bolt cutters during a protest in Santa Monica, as SPIN points out. The musician not only yelled out “Black Lives Matter!” alongside fellow demonstrators, but also held up a sign that read, “COPS: DON’T BE WHITE CHAUVINISTS ARREST THE OTHER THREE!!!”. The handwritten message refers to the three Minneapolis police officers also involved in Floyd’s death last week — Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane — who have yet to be arrested and charged. As of right now, only Derek Chauvin, the officer who held his knee down on the throat of a non-resisting Floyd for eight minutes, h...
Anonymous Hacks Chicago Police Scanners to Play N.W.A.’s “Fuck Tha Police”
N.W.A. As the protests over George Floyd’s death and normalized police brutality continue into a new week, we’ve seen everything from celebrities marching in the streets to tone-deaf remixes of Martin Luther King Jr. speeches. Over the weekend, the notorious hacker group Anonymous joined the fray by tapping into Chicago Police Department’s radios and playing N.W.A.’s “Fuck Tha Police”. This past Saturday, the notorious hacker group returned to social media to announce their solidarity with the protestors fighting racism and corruption in the US. “If the police can’t restrain themselves and are shooting reporters, kicking protesters, punching protesters, and engaging in violence — how can anyone expect the people to restrain themselves? People are done being brutalised and murdered,” they t...
Chance the Rapper Defends George Floyd Protestors: ‘Damaging Property Is Not Violent’
Chance the Rapper is coming to the defense of protesters across the nation. The Chicago MC took to Twitter on Saturday (May 30) to address protests in Los Angeles, New York, San Jose, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., where citizens are flooding the streets over the death of unarmed black man George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. “If you hold a pen at a publication, this is the time be carefully intent with your words. Do not demonize the people that are being beat and battered in the streets,” Chance wrote. “Damaging property is not violent. But the actions of the state have been. It must be documented justly.” Earlier this week, a video of Floyd’s death surfaced showing Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of Floyd f...
Music Industry Calling for a ‘Blackout’ in Response to George Floyd’s Death
The music industry is calling for a “Blackout Tuesday” in response to the death of George Floyd. On Friday (May 29), less than a week after Floyd was suffocated by a Minneapolis police officer during an arrest, numerous music companies and artists began spreading a message on social media calling for “a day to disconnect from work and reconnect with out community” and “an urgent step of action to provoke accountability and change.” “As gatekeepers of the culture, it’s our responsibility to not only come together to celebrate the wins, but also hold each other up during loss,” reads the statement, which is being circulated under the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused. The proposed blackout is set for Tuesday, June 2. Among those reposting the message are Apple ...
Beyoncé and Rihanna Address Death of George Floyd: “We Cannot Normalize This Pain”
Beyoncé and Rihanna have both issued statements regarding the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests taking place in cities across the US. “We need justice for George Floyd,” Beyoncé said in a video message posted to Instagram on Friday night. “We all witnessed his murder in broad daylight. We’re broken and we’re disgusted. We cannot normalize this pain.” “I’m not only speaking to people of color. If you’re white, black, brown, or anything in-between, I’m sure you feel hopeless about the racism going on in America right now,” Beyoncé continued. “No more senseless killings of human beings. No more seeing people of color as less than human. We can no longer look away.” Beyoncé went on to encourage her fans to sign a series of petitions demanding more charges be brought against&nbs...
Billie Eilish: “If I Hear One More White Person Say ‘All Lives Matter’ … I’m Gonna Lose My Fucking Mind”
In an impassioned post on Instagram, 18-year-old pop star Billie Eilish eviscerated the All Lives Matter movement, writing, “If I hear one more white person say “aLL liVeS maTtEr” one more fucking time I’m gonna lose my fucking mind.” The message was captioned with the hashtags #blacklivesmatter and #justiceforgeorgefloyd. Like millions of Americans, Eilish was incensed after George Floyd’s killing by a white Minneapolis police officer on May 25th. Ex-officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, continuing almost three minutes after Floyd went unconscious. After Floyd died, Chauvin was subsequently fired, but only placed under arrest after several days of sustained protests. Eilish began her post by writing, “I’ve been trying to take this week to figure out a way ...
Lil Wayne on George Floyd’s Death: “If We Want to Place the Blame on Anybody, It Should Be Ourselves”
Lil Wayne has addressed the killing of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man who died with the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin on his neck. In a conversation with Fat Joe on Instagram Live on Friday, Wayne said, “If we want to place the blame on anybody, it should be ourselves for not doing more than what we think we’re doing.” The controversial remarks came after a conversation about the time a police officer saved Wayne’s life. At the age of 12, the precocious rapper discharged a hand-gun and shot himself in the chest. Robert Hooper, an off-duty cop whom Weezy referred to as “Uncle Bob,” appeared on the scene. He said that, on the way to the hospital, Cooper “sat in the backseat with me and held me in his arms.” At the conclusion of that story, Fat Joe asked Lil Wayne about the death of...
Billie Eilish Shares Passionate Message Following George Floyd’s Death
Billie Eilish is joining the long list of artists speaking out after the death of George Floyd. On Saturday morning (May 30), as protests over Floyd’s controversial death spread nationwide, the 18-year-old “Bad Guy” singer took to social media to share her frustration over the situation. “I’ve been trying to take this week to figure out a way to address this delicately,” Eilish began her post on Instagram. “I have an enormous platform and I try really hard to be respectful and take time to think through what I say and how I say it…But holy f—ing shit I’m gonna just start talking.” The singer particularly took aim at white people using the phrase “all lives matter” in response to the death of Floyd, a black man wh...
