Last night, amidst the din of artists, activists, and civilians sharing thoughts on the protests of Michael Brown's murder in Ferguson, MO, two artists threw in their two cents. Frank Ocean took to his platform of choice to ask a few questions about a picture from a press conference by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon:
You see that black woman standing up there? I wonder if she was called to stand behind the governor because she’s black. I wonder if i’m supposed to think Missouri’s gov’t is pro-black because of her being stood up there with those other black men being all black and everything. I wonder if she was off the clock while she stood up there. If she was off the clock..then i wonder if she was getting paid for her time off like the guy who shot Michael 8 times. What’s that guy’s name by the way?
J. Cole, however, didn't have many questions. His latest "Be Free" is a defeated lament, as he hoarsely cries out between a recording of an eye witness account of the death of Michael Brown. Once the account is finished, J. Cole gives one last go of the refrain, over static and a soft piano melody: All we want to do is take the chains off / All we want to do is break the chains off / All we want to do is be free, he raps with a marked, understandable numbness.
Stream: J. Cole, "Be Free"
