Rapper LL Cool J has paid emotional tribute to George Floyd and several other victims of racism and police violence.
His Instagram video sees the ‘Doin’ It’ hit maker staring intensely into the camera while rapping about Floyd’s death and wearing a sweatshirt that reads ‘Black Lives Matter’.
“For 400 years, you had your knees on our necks,” he raps, referencing the video of a white police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck as Floyd pleads he can’t breathe. “A garden of evil with no seeds of respect / In America’s mirror, all she sees is regret / Instead of letting blood live, they begging for blood let.”
LL Cool J also took aim at the police officer, Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter as protesters across the country continue to demand justice for Floyd and his family.
The freestyle went on to name many more members of the black community killed by police, including Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Amadou Diallo, Breonna Taylor, Sean Bell, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and Oscar Grant.
LL Cool J is one of several artists speaking out in the wake of Floyd’s death. Among the other musicians condemning racism and police brutality are Beyonce, Chance the Rapper, Ariana Grande, Killer Mike, Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, Meek Mill, Billie Eilish, Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Gaga, Cynthia Erivo, Halsey and Ice Cube.
“We refuse to live in hell while you living in paradise / Being black in America’s like rolling a pair of dice / But the stakes are way higher / You gambling with my life,” LL Cool J concludes his rap before adding, “Black lives matter, forever.”
