The last time someone remotely invoked the spirit of the Black Panthers, they ended up being labelled anti-police and were subject of a Blue Lives Matter protest. But the backlash Beyonce endured didn’t stop T.I. from making his own statement. Dressed in all black while wearing a black beret like his name was Huey Newton, the Bankhead rapper delivered his powerful performance of ‘We Will Not’ at the 2016 BET Hip-Hop Awards.
Late last month, T.I. surprised fans with Us or Else, an EP in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. In an interview with Ebro In The Morning, the Hustle Gang rapper explained Us or Else was a project that “speaks explicitly about the twisted road race relations has taken in America to arrive at its current precarious state.” Since its release, Tip has remained outspoken, most recently participating in VEVO’s “Why I Vote” to break down just how drugs and mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses destroyed the black community.
