Rapper The Game is no stranger to controversy, and made waves on Saturday when he let his feelings on the recent shootings of two NYPD officers be known in a message posted to his Instagram and over one million followers on his Twitter account:
With “I Can’t Breathe” signs, shirts and other displays echoing Eric Garner’s final words, ongoing nationwide protests against police brutality follow a series of high-profile killings in which the officers involved were not indicted. In response, the NYPD’s tasteless counter-statement of wearing shirts emblazoned with “I CAN BREATHE,” coupled with a scarcely-attended “Thank You NYPD” event over the weekend, has exacerbated the tension between authorities and civilians.
Game, aka Jayceon Taylor, is no stranger to controversy and certainly never one to mince his words. But what’s vital to recognize is that Taylor is doing more than serving as a sharp edge of antagonism in a tragic time for the NYPD; at a time when many are framing the killings as he amended the heavily-used #BlackLivesMatter hashtag to say “#AllLivesMatter,” illustrating that violence is not the solution.
