Grammy-nominated rapper the Game assembled a team of A-list recording artists to pay tribute to Michael Brown, the unarmed teenager who was shot and killed by a police officer in Fergson, Missouri, on August 9. The title of the resulting song, “Don’t Shoot,” borrows from the hands-up gesture witnesses say Brown was making when he was shot by officer Darren Wilson, a gesture that’s become a symbol for the movement that’s fomented in Ferguson in the wake of the killing.
The song features several of hip-hop’s biggest names, including Rick Ross, 2 Chainz, Diddy, Fabolous, Wale, DJ Khaled, Swizz Beatz, Yo Gotti, Curren$y, Problem, and King Pharaoh, along with R&B trio TGT.
The hook, sung by TGT, is a powerful call to action:
Time to take a stand and save our futureLike we all got shot, we all got shot
Throwin up our hands don’t let them shoot us
Cause we all we got, we all we got
God ain’t put us on the Earth to get murdered, it’s murder
God ain’t put us on the Earth to get murdered, it’s murder
Don’t point your weapons at me
The song is available for purchase on iTunes, and the proceeds will go to Mike Brown’s GoFundMe, an account set up to “assist his family with costs that they will acquire as they seek justice on Michael’s behalf.”
