(AllHipHop News) The mother of Tamir Rice is tired of artists capitalizing off of her son’s death.
After six-year, she has taken action to make sure that proper respect is paid to his memory.
Samaria Rice’s son was shot tragically by the police in 2014, five days before Thanksgiving.
To add to the grieving mother’s pain, a grand jury refused to indict Timothy Loehmann, the man who shot her son, or Frank Garmback, his partner.
Though eventually, the family sued the city and settled for $6 million, it seems that several artists have included her son’s name, image, and likeness in songs without permission.
According to Cleveland.com, Samaria Rice believes that her son and his death are being exploited.
An example she offers is in Lena Waithe’s#### film, “Queen & Slim.”
Waithe appeared on a podcast called “The Read” in December of 2019 and shared that a character from the film, Junior, was based on Tamir.
It can be assumed that the act of memorial was not approved by the guardian of Tamir Rice’s legacy.
Rice shares, “I’m not normal because of what America has done to my family. I’m just dealing with it. I can’t even have my son in peace. That’s what it feels like.”
It is not just an emotional heartbreak, but like most estates, it’s about business also.
In 2016, two years after his police-involved killing, Samaria trademarked Tamir’s name with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.
Waithe is a mild example, exacerbated by others.
Artists like Pusha T, Lecrae, and Quan have actually mentioned Tamir in his music and countless people have used his name in tribute videos along-side others.
Thursday, July 2nd would have been Tamir Rice’s 18th birthday. He would have been legally allowed to vote in this upcoming presidential election.