Damian Lillard releases 'Blacklist,' a new track about racism and George Floyd's death
Damian Lillard, one of the NBA’s most musically talented players, released a new track on Tuesday. Typically he puts out diss tracks, but this one’s different. It’s called “Blacklist,” and Lillard used it to express his feelings about racism, the killing of George Floyd, and the Black Lives Matter protests that have been sweeping the world.
The Portland Trail Blazers point guard, who is also known as Dame D.O.L.L.A., produced the track with music from Kev Choice, a musician from Lillard’s hometown of Oakland, Calif. (Warning: track contains explicit language)
DamianLillard0 · Dame D.O.L.L.A. - Blacklist
The track sounds different than those he’s released in the past. It sounds more like spoken word poetry with a piano background, which reflects the seriousness of the topics he’s talking about. This is how he opens the track: “As a Brother with a good heart I say f*** you if you’re racist. Or white staying quiet, you disabling the changes.”
The rest of the song is just as impassioned. He touches on his position as a rich Black man who continues to experience racism despite his money and his status as an NBA star.
“As a rich black man living in this country, it’s hard being comfy when the hate yo people get is coming from the ones amongst me.”
He commented on President Donald Trump’s reaction to the protests and the police brutality that has followed.
“How these good cops won’t speak on the bad apples? How the president get on TV and be mad casual? Like, ‘If you lootin’ we shootin’ like it’s a game. Dude a clown and a trust fund baby, he numb to pain.”
He even managed to drop his opinion on how the NBA will be finishing out its season, tying it into both COVID-19 and racism.
“1950 how we divided, and I ain’t even tripping on how the season decided. Racism pandemic is years ahead of the virus.”
Music is just the latest way Lillard is expressing his feelings about systemic racism and police brutality. Last weekend he participated in a protest march in Portland, Oregon and broadcast part of it on Instagram Live.
Dame joined the protest in Portland
(via @Dame_Lillard) pic.twitter.com/i930FCAmEM— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 5, 2020
He’s also used Twitter to ask some thought-provoking questions about the relationship between the police and the people they’re supposed to serve and protect.
If you attack the police then they have the right/reason to arrest you... but when the police attack YOU then you have the right to lay down and beg for your life? ...
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) June 6, 2020
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