On February 23, Arbery was fatally shot while jogging in a neighborhood near his hometown of Brunswick, Georgia. Arbery ran past Gregory McMichael, 64, who claimed that he looked like a suspected burglar responsible for a string of robberies in the area, according to the New York Times. McMichael, a former policeman, alerted his son Travis McMichael, 34. The two men armed themselves with guns and trailed after Arbery in a pickup truck. In the footage that was released yesterday, Arbery, who was unarmed, can be seen in a physical struggle with the elder McMichael before he is gunned down by McMichael’s son in broad daylight.

A tidal wave of shock, anger, anguish and horror from rap’s luminaries flooded social media in response to footage. Atlanta trap pioneer Jeezy took to Instagram to call out the inherent racism that led to the 25-year-old’s death.

“My heart goes out to the family of Ahmaud Arbey. Prayers goes out to all of us that look like him too. This could have be you, me, your brother, uncle. Maybe your son or your father. Truth of the matter is, if he is a suspect based off the the way he looks, then I guess I’m a suspect too,” the rapper wrote. “No ones deserves to be hunted like a wild animal. Outnumbered, then murdered in cold blood. Racism is still very real. And it has killed more of us than any pandemic. It’s time for us to find a cure. This has to stop! One word: justice.” 

T.I. also took to Instagram to demand justice for Arbery. He shared a flyer with the number and email of the Liberty County District Attorney’s office demanding for both McMichael and his son to be charged for Arbery’s death. 

“IT WON'T STOP UNTIL WE STOP IT‼️” he captioned the post. 

Other artists have taken to social media to express their contempt. Check out what LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, 2 Chainz, Lloyd Banks and more had to say of Ahmaud Arbery’s tragic death below: