Rakim Talks Police Racial Profiling “We Have to Be Smart” – blogged by @MsJennyb

The recent shooting deaths of Black men by the hands of the police have sparked protests across the country and overseas. Protestors are determined to gain respect for the lives of black men, women, and children. Several celebrities have used their platform to reiterate the meaning of the Black Lives Matter movement and to vocalize the demands of equality and justice by Black Americans.

The hip-hop community has always been extremely vocal about relationships with law enforcement, or lack thereof. However, in an effort to make a change and to put an end to the mismanagement of authority by police officers, artists such as The Game, T.I. and Snoop Dogg have joined protests and spoke out against police brutality.

Recently in a discussion with HipHopDx, Rakim weighed in on police racial profiling and how he’s instructed his son to act when approached by a police officer. In addition, the rapper spoke on changes that must be made within the justice system for us to progress.

“If you’re conscious of where we’re at in life right now, with democracy, rights, and racism, and all these things, you’ll have an opinion like myself. I don’t feel that what’s going on is necessary.” Rakim said.

“I feel that, it’s a corny word, but the first thing is we’re being stereotyped. If you look a certain way, you’re gonna get handled a certain way. It stems back to stereotyping and racism. So we gotta understand what’s going on, and avoid it as much as we can. You know, I got kids. I got sons, and I try to tell them, ‘Look, man, when you in the car and you get pulled over, hands on the steering wheel. Yes, sir. No sir. Your job is to either wind up in jail, so I can come get you, or be able to pull off. That’s your job. I’d rather come get you from the precinct, for whatever happened, instead of mouthing off or giving them any reason to use that physical abuse. So we have to be smart, but still, what they’re doing is uncalled for, and unfair, man. The laws are gonna have to change. And it’s 2016. We can’t keep using all the laws that was made back in the 1700s. We’re gonna have to understand that times have changed.”