Meek Mill's controversial 'Stay Woke' performance takes on police brutality

Since his release from prison in April, Meek Mill has used his platform to fight for criminal justice reform. And at the BET Awards Sunday night, Mill debuted his new song "Stay Woke," featuring Miguel, with an emotional performance that shined a light on police brutality. The powerful performance, which started with Mill walking around the stage with everyday scenes playing around him, ultimately took a dark turn when actors portraying police officers rushed the stage, as Mill rapped, "In a world where black is wrong and white right. It's like a combat, we go to war for our freedom, they say we equal." The violent scene then ended with a devastating shooting of a black child. As the child's mother wailed over the death of her daughter on the street, Miguel entered back onto the stage singing, "Though it's designed for us to fail. Still prevail through the hell. Though it's designed for us to lose. Nothing's impossible. Believe it, we’re still undefeated." During his performance, Mill was also sporting a sweatshirt with the faces of late rappers XXXTentacion and Jimmy Wopo, who recently died due to gun violence on June 18th. That sentiment was not lost on viewers who took to Twitter to share their respect for Mill's performance as they tweeted:

"Stay Woke" is Mill's first new music since his release from prison, and based off this stunning performance, we can't wait to see what's next from him.