How much has changed in a year post Eric Garner? If you watch the news then the answer to that isn’t as conclusive as you would want it to be. People can visit New York from all over the world and face subtle reminders of what happened in Staten Island last July. Add to that with the recent shooting death of Samuel Dubose at the hands of a University of Cincinnati police officer and it feels as if police reform has been a subject of conversation every day, almost every few hours on social media and beyond.
READ: Still Can’t Breathe: Eric Garner’s Death A Cause For Hurt And Hopelessness One Year Later
Lyricks, a rapper who recently uprooted from Virginia and now resides in NYC, recently crafted a video for “Can’t Breathe,” featuring Robyn. Captured in black and white, the VA native offers more spoken word as opposed to an onslaught of bars, questioning the status quo. “Good cops exist, but the bad ones keep bringing them down,” he raps. “I mean, the whole band could be playing on the perfect pitch, right? But one off key could just fuck up the sound.”
“Can’t Breathe” offers a visual reminder for the year, of clips of Garner, Tamir Rice, Walter Scot and numerous prison cameras where officers are shown abusing inmates under their watch. It’s a sobering ass watch, yet another timely reminder that police reform is a necessity and the voices who see this on a daily basis need be heard.
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