Mixtape Monday: Injustice Edition — Afropunk, DJ Akiin x Hands Up Don’t Shoot, DJ Underdog For Eric Garner, Diplo, Chairman Mao + More
This Mixtape Monday edition carries a bit more social weight. To say that it’s been a distressing time lately in America is putting it lightly. After the word came down Wednesday that the NYPD officer that killed Eric Garner would not be indicted for any wrongdoing, thousands took to the streets across Manhattan and across the nation, screaming to the world–Black Lives Matter. And as citizens marched the hip-hop community took action as well. We heard Yasiin Bey, The Wu-Tang Clan and none other than Stevie Wonder raise their voice against what appears to be yet another blatant and lethal policing injustice.
But speaking out against police injustice–against the quotidian abuse that black men and women endure from cops–isn’t a new subject for hip-hop. “Hands up don’t shoot!” and “I can’t breathe!” are but the newest, sadly necessary slogans for a movement that has a long-standing musical foundation. The mixtape community didn’t sit still during the last six weeks, and so we have for you a new grip of mixes that push back against the system’s corruption. You’ll hear plenty of reminders to fight the power and more than a few shouts of “Fuck the police!” But there’s more than just the classic go-to cop-busters; DJ Akiin spun J. Cole and Shing Shing Regime into his Michael Brown tribute set, and Afropunk’s new “Public Unrest” volume is loaded with interview clips and new material galore. If you’ve been looking for the sweeping sonic response to all this unjust bullsh*t, it’s right here. For good measure, we’ve also added in the latest and greatest mixes from Diplo, Chairman Mao and more.
