16 Rappers Who Have Stood With #BlackLivesMatter

Get the real on rappers who are actually down with #BLM.

KRS-One - When this hip-hop pioneer speaks, we listen! The woke rap legend and founder of the Stop the Violence movement in 1988 used CNN as a platform to speak on the devastating deaths of unarmed Black teens like Tamir Rice and Trayvon Martin. He claimed that we are in a state of lawlessness in the U.S. and came for politicians who accept the idea of brutal police, calling them a federally organized gang. (Photo: CNN)
J. Cole - Back sharing the lyrics he spits best, J. Cole released the song “Jermaine’s Interlude” on DJ Khaled’s Major Key album, which dropped this month. The music touches on gun violence and the suffering that is caused because of the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they police. Some of his lyrics include: “Cause n****s is out here dying / From police that flash the siren / And pull up and just start firin' / N****s murkin’ each other.” The sounds give us chills as we feel the pain in his words. (Photo: Ollie Millington/Redferns)
Jay Z - Earlier this month, Jay Z released the song “Spiritual” after the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. In the song, he says, “I am not poison / Just a boy from the hood that / Got my hands in the air / In despair, don't shoot.” Time after time, Jay Z has used music to expose the injustices Black people have experienced since his “A Billie” remix, in which he mentioned Sean Bell, the police brutality victim for whose children Jay created an educational trust fund. (Photo: Sakura/WENN.com)
Nas - In 2015, Nas partnered with Usher and Bibi Bourelly to create an interactive music video called “Chains” that featured victims of police violence, including Sean Bell and Rekia Boyd. On the song, Nas raps, “I am no prison commodity, not just a body you throw in a cell." The video points fans to chainshub.org and sankofa.org to learn how to build a social movement. (Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Live Nation)Immortal Technique - Technique has not been short of words when it comes to people of color murdered by the hands of law enforcement. During an interview with VladTV, the artist has expressed Ferguson’s need for more young activists and called out rappers who were afraid to discuss killings by police for fear of being controversial. The rapper has protested with demonstrators in the U.S. several times to denounce police violence. (Photo: Josh Brasted/Getty Images)

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J. Cole - Back sharing the lyrics he spits best, J. Cole released the song “Jermaine’s Interlude” on DJ Khaled’s Major Key album, which dropped this month. The music touches on gun violence and the suffering that is caused because of the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they police. Some of his lyrics include: “Cause n****s is out here dying / From police that flash the siren / And pull up and just start firin' / N****s murkin’ each other.” The sounds give us chills as we feel the pain in his words. (Photo: Ollie Millington/Redferns)

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