Use of the Confederate Flag in Hip Hop

How rappers have addressed the South's symbol of racism.

Change Gonna Come? - In the wake of the Charleston Massacre, President Obama is standing firm in his belief that the Confederate flag belongs in a museum. The NAACP president Cornell Brooks calls it an "emblem of hate." And the shooter in South Carolina reportedly had one on the license plate of his car.Read on for a look at how hip hop has flipped and dismissed the controversial symbol.(Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
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Kanye West's Tour Gear - Kanye West drew the ire of Al Sharpton and the side eye of fans when he began selling merchandise that features the Confederate flag at his Yeezus tour. "I took the Confederate flag and made it my flag. It's my flag now. Now, what you gonna do?" he said in his defense. *Kanye shrug*  (Photo: Virgil Abloh via Instagram)Nas' "Testify" Lyrics - In this song off his 2008 Untitled LP, Nas uses the controversial flag to illustrate a violent reaction to racism. "Send these redneck bigots to some death in a bag," Nas rhymes. "Choke him out with his Confederate flag/I know these devils are mad." (Photo: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)

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Change Gonna Come? - In the wake of the Charleston Massacre, President Obama is standing firm in his belief that the Confederate flag belongs in a museum. The NAACP president Cornell Brooks calls it an "emblem of hate." And the shooter in South Carolina reportedly had one on the license plate of his car.Read on for a look at how hip hop has flipped and dismissed the controversial symbol.(Photo: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

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