Due to the deaths of black men like Mike Brown, Eric Garner and many others, rappers have felt the need to speak out about police brutality plaguing black communities. Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole took their frustrations about the tension between the cops and people of color to the booth, but A$AP Rocky said he does not see the need to discuss this issue in his music.
During his appearance at Oxford University in London, he said that putting in his two cents about the issue is not important to him.
“I don’t feel like anyone is obligated to talk about that kind of stuff unless they want to,” he said. “I don’t feel like everybody has to be like Kendrick or talk about political things just to try to stand out… For me, I wasn’t there when [the police brutality incidents] occurred, on top of that, I didn’t go to any marches. I didn’t go to any protests. So, for me, I can’t speak on it because I’m not helping to change it. I didn’t figure out a way through my art if I felt like it was something I should talk about, but I don’t feel like I have a need to.”
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The “LSD” rapper also said that he feels that there should be more focus on black-on-black crime rather than the police killings of black people.
Why are we exploiting the beef between the urban community and police officers when in all reality during Memorial [Day] weekend, 60-some odd people were shot just on a Friday and Saturday? Sixty-some odd people in one weekend in Chicago… black-on-black crime.One cop shoots a black person, let’s march. Let’s protest, let’s promote our mixtapes on TV, and all that…I feel like if you’re not going to talk about the main topic, don’t talk about it at all…If we’re going to talk about that, let’s talk about the black people killing black people? So if nobody wants to talk about that, neither do I.”
Watch the full Q&A below.