There’s a lot going on in the world at the moment, and if you stopped to consider all the ongoing and volatile conflicts that are happening at any one time your head would probably explode. Minneapolis rapper Samar knows that feeling; an advocate by nature – he’s not into it for money, or the clout it brings – he narrates his own stories in his lyrics, finding his motivation in his local environment. At first a breakdancer, then a b-boy, he’s now a rapper with a global quest and an unmatched track record.
The music video for Samar’s latest single, ‘Stop Killing Us’, makes a plea to the current climate with regard to police brutality. He knows first hand what that’s like; when he was 8 years old he felt the impact of the troubling paths his older brothers were following, and he made a promise to his mother that he’d get them out of that situation. Such a strong mindset at such a young age – he nonetheless achieved his goal.
Released at the end of 2019, the message of the video for ‘Stop Killing Us’, is sadly still as relevant today as it was then. The systemic violence and murder against black people at the hands of police and other authority figures is a crime that needs to be stopped. Samar’s community feels the trauma of this senseless brutality every day: he even lost a friend, back in 1991, at the hands of the Minneapolis police.
Samar takes out his megaphone and declares his message loud and clear, that violence against black people must stop, regardless of who is committing it. We see him walking proudly through Minneapolis, as scenes of of murders are recapped on a newscast. He even uses raw footage of the civil unrest that followed. Samar is ready for drastic change, and won’t hesitate to be at the barricades when it comes. His hope is that the next generation will have better role models to follow, and it’s his aim to put his body where his words are, and be one himself.
Watch the video for ‘Stop Killing Us’, below. You can find Samar online on Instagram.
