(AllHipHop News) Rappers T.I. and Killer Mike both gave impassioned speeches to address the uprisings in the aftermath of Minneapolis murder victim George Floyd.
Uprisings, revolts, riots and insurrections have sprouted up all over the nation, but the rappers urged their constituency from anarchy, chaos and self-destruction.
“I didn’t want to come, and I don’t want to be here,” Killer Mike said, sounding extremely emotional from the podium. “I’m the son of an Atlanta city police officer, my cousin is an Atlanta city police officer, and my other cousin is a police officer in East Point. I’ve got a lot of love and respect for police officers, down to the original eight police officers in Atlanta that even, after becoming police, had to dress in a YMCA because white officers didn’t want to get dressed with n###ers. And here we are 80 years later, I watched a white officer assassinate a black man, and I know that tore your heart out.”
However, the rapper told protestors not to destroy where they live, assuming that those causing the mayhem were African American.
“It is your duty not to burn your own house down for anger with an enemy, saIt is your duty to fortify your own house so that you may be a house of refuge in times of organization,” Mike said.
The mayor kicked off the press conference and evoked MLK and self-love, chastising the people in a parental manner.
“If you care about this city then go home. This is not a protest. This is chaos. A protest has purpose,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms said. “You are not honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. You’re not protesting anything running out with brown liquor in your hands, breaking windows in this city. T.I. and Killer Mike own half the West Side, so when you burn down this city, you are burning down our community.”
Tip garnered the most commentary on social media after comparing The A to the mytical, fictitious tech-savvy country Wakanda.
“When everything else goes away, when you don’t get treated right in New York or L.A., Atlanta has been here for us,” T.I. said. “This city don’t deserve this. This is Wakanda; it’s sacred. We must protect it.”
He literally said what the f### I been saying all gotdamn day. Take y’all ass HOME. Atlanta isn’t the place to spread your stupid behavior covered by fake ass outrage. #atlantaprotest pic.twitter.com/bprB18GWyq
— Professor Pitch (@unluckybutter3) May 30, 2020