Rakim On Black Lives Matter and Police Violence: ‘What They’re Doing Is Uncalled For’

Rakim shared his thoughts regarding Black Lives Matter and the ongoing cases of police violence against black citizens. In the wake of the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, many hip-hop artists have voiced concern and anger over the aggression police often use in dealing with black people; and with so many officers not having to pay a significant price for using lethal force, the public is demanding reform

Speaking to HipHopDX, Rakim voiced his own frustrations with the current climate.

“We all understand and see what’s going on," Rakim says. "Social media gives a lot of people a platform where they can express their feelings. I like to do mine through songs. I let info build up. In some way, it translates into paper whenever I sit down.”

“If you’re conscious of where we’re at in life right now, with democracy, rights, and racism, and all these things, you’ll have an opinion like myself. I don’t feel that what’s going on is necessary.” Rakim explained.

He added that the problem starts with how police view black people.

“I feel that, it’s a corny word, but the first thing is we’re being stereotyped. If you look a certain way, you’re gonna get handled a certain way. It stems back to stereotyping and racism. So we gotta understand what’s going on, and avoid it as much as we can. You know, I got kids. I got sons, and I try to tell them, ‘Look, man, when you in the car and you get pulled over, hands on the steering wheel. Yes, sir. No sir. Your job is to either wind up in jail, so I can come get you, or be able to pull off. That’s your job. I’d rather come get you from the precinct, for whatever happened, instead of mouthing off or giving them any reason to use that physical abuse. So we have to be smart, but still, what they’re doing is uncalled for, and unfair, man. The laws are gonna have to change. And it’s 2016. We can’t keep using all the laws that was made back in the 1700s. We’re gonna have to understand that times have changed.”