As 2019 turned to a new year, no one could have forseen the feature film that would be 2020. Kobe and GiGi died in a helicopter crash almost a year to the week that Nipsey Hussle was murdered. It would only be the beginning.
February would deal another blow as budding, young rapper Pop Smoke was brutally murdered in a Los Angeles home invasion.
By the end of the first quarter we found ourselves officially in a nationwide quarantine due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.
An initial wave of celebs, including everyone’s favorite Tom Hanks , was diagnosed with COVID19 but seemingly unaffected by the harshest symptoms. Death tolls skyrocketed with cataclysmic projections, leading some to cry conspiracy and most paralyzed with fear.
As with every calamity, black people were hit the hardest. Those with means fled for the burbs and other states with initially lower COVID cases. Those without were generally connected to essential workers, be they delivery people, healthcare professionals, and front-facing retail workers. All were lauded daily for their “sacrifice” but platitudes were a far cry from the hazard pay they deserved.
Business shutdowns, and international travel bans placed everyone on pause. Black culture would kick into high gear as traditional entertainment outlets found their doors shut. Artists, bloggers, and podcasters took to social media to showcase their voices, their wit and their brilliance. Beenie Man & Bounty Killer gave dance hall music its biggest spotlight in years, proving that black magnetism is in fact universal and beyond borders.
Onlyfans took hold of adult entertainment in the absence of strip clubs, Back Page and Craigslist ads. It has become the go-to platform for everyone from the amateur to some of Hollywood’s most elite as an online revenue stream.
Enter May 25th. The tragic death of Eric Garner was echoed In Minneapolis as George Floyd , a Black man, was killed by police by a police officer as he begged for his life with entreaties of “I can’t breathe.” Floyd was ignored as Officer Derek Chauvin continued to knelt his full weight on the back of Floyd’s neck.
This would set off a critical chain of events across the nation amd around the world. A week prior to the Floyd incident we watched in horror as Black jogger Ahmaud Arbrey was chased down and killed by a group of white men “protecting their neighborhood” a la George Zimmerman .
The same week, Black healthcare worker Breonna Taylor killed by police in a botched raid. Cops executed an arrest warrant for a person who had already been captured an hour before. They burst into Taylor’s home she shared with her boyfriend and fired multiple rounds killing her while her boyfriend fired back at what he believed were home invaders. Both deaths of Taylor and Arbrey occurred in March and were buried by COVID-mania. After two months in quarantine, there was nothing to suppress these stories any longer.
Ive always said we would need everything taken from us before we would be in the position to actually achieve something. This may not be it, but its a lot closer than ever. No sports amd no outside meant a news cycle bereft of new items to drown out a seeming avalanche of Black death. Pandemonium broke loose. There would be no distraction or misdirection this time. The world was ours and they would hear us.
What resulted was the biggest global civil rights movement in decades, made local by the power of the internet. The cultural tide has turned with regards to entertainers shucking and jiving. Cooning is no longer acceptable and the gatekeepers are scrambling. Action and involvement are now prerequisites, not afterthoughts or tax breaks. No one wants to be on the wrong side of history and make no mistake, this is history.
Many celebs and rappers have exposed themselves, some to a surprising and disappointing degree. Outspoken rappers Killer Mike & T.I. went on record proclaiming Atlanta as the mythical Marvel kingdom of Wakanda. Killer Mike, with his musical themes of “Killing your masters” stood alongside T.I. and Atlanta Mayor more like protectors of the landed gentry than the people they claim to represent musically.
Their hypocrisy would be on full display a day later as Atlanta Police beat and tazed two Black students trying to get home in the middle.of a hastily crafted curfew. Grass roots organizers would eventually speak out against both rappers, calling two of the biggest disruptive entities of change in their community.
Lil Wayne came under fire for his poorly-timed statements as well. “I think when we see these situations, I think we also have to understand that we have to get very specific,” said Lil Wayne. “And what I mean by that is we have to stop viewing it with such a broad view, meaning we have to stop placing the blame on the whole force and the whole everybody or a certain race or everybody with a badge.””We have to actually get into who that person is,” he continued. “And if we want to place the blame on anybody, it should be ourselves for not doing more than what we think we’re doing.” Niglet please.
When unrest meets injustice, expect disruption. The people are unemployed, small businesses are tanking, and most of these celebrities have not stepped up to aide us in our time of need. Not financially, and certainly not in terms of activism. The people have taken things into their own hands.
The sports world is not immune, either. Nascar has banned the Confederate flag, prompting protests from some of its professional drivers and fans. The world of sports apologizing to Colin Kaepernick is laughable. We spent years arguing over the meaning of his costly protest. Now, there aren’t enough knee pads in America to pay him back.
So what’s next? Bob Johnson has proposed Reparations for Black Americans to the tune of over 300k . That probably won’t happen.
Right now I can’t tell you if we truly have leverage, but we should certainly strike while the iron is hot. If handled correctly, this pandemic could be a blessing in disguise for the black community. But are we all for it?
Music has been with us throughout Black history. It has been both the driving force.of culture and drawn inspiration for our struggle. Is there a legitimate Hip-Hop artist capable of telling the story of 2020? Rap music isn’t the only genre capable of doing so but it has spoken the the modern language of revolt with an intimacy that other genres just can’t. We’re tired of singing, it’s time to act. However with a rainbow haired police co-operator currently at the top of Hip-Hop, the industry may be the next institution in need of disruption.
Odeisel of Planet Ill and Mistah Earl Grey of Love Peace & Slander contributed to this report.
