(AllHipHop News) Battler rapper, author, and talk show host Tsu Surf organized his own protest against police-involved murder.
Sparked by the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, he and a few hundred of his followers congregated in the Newark, NJ suburb of Bloomfield to pay tribute to Black men, women, and children whose deaths were clearly based on a lack of regard for their humanity, specifically as it is connected to race.
A mouthful, right?
Yes.
But that is the type of awareness that Surf, whose real name is Rahjon Cox, consistently brings to anything that he does.
This was first made evident in the release of this 2019 best-selling book “House in Virginia” with Jessica Watkins, where the rapper created a cautionary tale about the rise of AIDS/ HIV in New Jersey. The protest has a similar concern to detail.
Surf announced the march via social media on Saturday. He promised two hours of silence, stressing no violence.
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“2 hrs. of silence for George Floyd. We are not breaking anything. We are not in the streets. We are not even speaking,” he posted.
The “What Changed?” rapper went on to say that he did not care if he only had 15 people in attendance.
“We gone pay our respect with some class and show it’s a big problem with what ‘s going on today. If you got two hours to spend with me and my friends (of all colors) DM me.”
He promised to respond to whoever reached out to him personally, which of course was a great treat for fans.
The march was on the sidewalk and as they passed local police, stationed to contain any civil unrest, the masses chanted “No justice, no peace. F*ck these racist @ss police.”
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As they walked through the streets, he reminded attendees to be respectful and not to damage anything.
“When it is time to walk, we gonna walk you did?” Surf informed. “And we not breaking sh*t, it’s ours.”
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His team also created a pavement memorial for deceased names. They walked and said the names of victims starting with Texas rapper and DJ Screw affiliate Big Floyd (known to the world as George Floyd) back to the 1955 death of Emmett Till.
In a small gesture of sincere respect for allies, when the group approached a white man and his daughter, he said to her “I love you. Thank you” because she was out there supporting the cause with a Black Lives Matter sign.
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This is a big deal for the artist.
He has been sheltering in for months because of the COVID-19 pandemic but also recording his four shows on Caffeine.TV, the interstitial on the URL App, preparing to battle Loaded Lux in July at NOME 10 and finishing up his next album this Black music month entitled, MSYKM.
MSYKM drops on June 10th and features G Herbo, Mozzy, Jim Jones, Benny the Butcher, Lady London, Justin Love, Dave East, Guodon, Earthquake Jones, and BBY HNDRXX.