S. Samuel
Recently released rapper Ja Rule has delved into the hot topic of George Zimmerman weeks after he avoided life behind bars for taking the life of teenager Trayvon Martin last year.
Rule pointed out how he served nearly two years on a gun possession conviction and Zimmerman was nearly painted as a hero for killing an innocent teen.
“Am I mad at people having firearms? Not really, because it is our right to bear arms. But am I mad at a law like Stand Your Ground? Yeah, I think that’s a little excessive. I just feel that as a society we really need to come together and figure out where to draw the line between these type of issues, what’s right and what’s wrong, and I think we’re sending the wrong message to our youth. … It’s scary, because it’s like, what do I tell my two sons? Their father gets locked up for a pistol that I didn’t brandish, I didn’t fire, and I did two years? And this man murders a young black man and is free. How do I explain why daddy went to jail and now this guy doesn’t get to go to jail?” (Complex)
The former Murder Inc. star also applauded recent efforts made by hip-hop artists speaking out on the Martin tragedy.
“One of the things that strikes me is a lot of artists spoke out about the whole Trayvon Martin thing. I like that, I appreciate that our people were able to march calmly and rally safely. But there’s young black men being murdered every day in our neighborhoods. You can’t just take one incident and decide to get behind that just because there’s heavy media behind it and it looks good on you as an artist. What about justice for all of our black youth that are getting killed everyday in the hood by other black men? I think that’s an issue we need to start marching for and rallying for as well.” (Complex)
Last month, Maybach Music Group leader Rick Ross revealed his tense feelings toward Zimmerman being acquitted.
“I’m still angry,” Ross said. “I’m upset and really, really enraged. I’ve just been trying to keep from putting too much negative energy out there. So, you know, we’re just doing our thing behind our closed doors. But most definitely, that’s a big problem and something has to happen and it will.” (Global Grind)
Much like Rule and Ross’ tense stance, Southern rapper T.I. recently said he would have went to extreme measures if someone took his son’s life.
“Man, it was some bulls**t,” said T.I. “My hat goes off to the Martin family, because if it was me and my child, there wouldn’t have been no trial. I’d have been on trial. It would’ve been the trial of the father who killed the man who killed [his child]. That would have been my story. My hat goes off because [the Martin family] are much more clear and level-headed thinkers than [myself].” (News Radio)
