Memphis, TN—NLE Choppa has been on a mission to change the world. On Saturday (January 28), he earned a few karma points by hosting a peaceful protest in Memphis following the police killing of Tyre Nichols. The rapper announced the event in a Twitter video, saying, “Today, I felt it on my heart to turn a negative situation into a positive. I actually went to sleep dwelling on how I could wake up today and do that.”
At the same time, NLE Choppa launched a new hashtag for Nichols, who was an avid skateboarder. He continued, “So, I came up with a hashtag, #SkateForTyre. I came up with a location where I want everyone in Memphis that wants to be a part to meet me at for a peaceful march, a peaceful walk, and a peaceful skate through the streets […] I just want to skate for Tyre and respect to him and know that’s how he would’ve wanted everybody to act.”
#SkateForTyre 4687 Cottonwood Rd
— NLE Choppa (@Nlechoppa1) January 28, 2023
At 2PM. Let’s Do Something Peaceful And Loving For Something Tyre Loved To Do #SPREADTHIS #MEMPHIS #901pic.twitter.com/JzrQaqHM2f
Hours later, NLE Choppa shared another video thanking everyone who showed up for the event. He told the crowd, “We are standing for something and we are not falling for nothing.”
Tyre Nichols was pulled over on the evening of January 7 for suspected reckless driving. According to CNN, Nichols fled on foot following a “confrontation” with the officers. He was apprehended and promptly arrested following what is being described as “another confrontation.” But, as the video shows, the “confrontation” was a senseless beating that resulted in the Nichols’ death on January 10.
The Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the incident. A funeral for Nichols is scheduled to take place on Wednesday (February 1). The officers involved in his death will be arraigned on February 17.