Black Thought remembers Trayvon Martin with new song “Rest in Power”: Stream
The Roots’ own Black Thought has contributed a new song to Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story, the upcoming documentary series from JAY-Z. The six-part program examines the death of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old who was murdered by volunteer cop George Zimmerman in Florida in 2012. The killing, and Zimmerman’s subsequent acquittal of all charges, immediately sparked a new wave of racial tensions in the US, much needed questions about police brutality, and the beginning of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
Black Thought’s track is also titled “Rest in Power” and aptly pays tribute to the slain teen. “Rest in power, rest in paradise/ If I could change matters, I would spare a life,” the rapper reflects on the moving song’s chorus. Black Thought also pulls back to comment on the country’s ugly history of racism and slavery, saying, “In America, one tradition that lasts/ Is black blood woven into the fibers’ o the flag/ Not addressing the problems of the past.”
Check it out below via its official music video, which features Black Thought himself, Martin’s mother, and footage of Colin Kaepernick kneeling and BLM activists.
The first episode of Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story premieres Monday, July 30th on the Paramount Network.
Black Thought previously dropped his Streams of Thought, Vol. 1 EP in June.
