Meek Mill Tells Stories of Injustice From the "Otherside of America"

Meek Mill returns with a new protest track focused on the murder of 46-year-old African American man George Floyd by Minneapolis, Minnesota police. Titled “Otherside of America,” Meek takes aim at President Donald Trump, prison reform and his time trying to survive in the streets before his rap career.

The song opens up with an intro sampled from Donald Trump’s August 16, 2016 campaign speech at a political rally in Michigan in which he urges the African American community to vote for him. “What do you have to lose? You’re living in poverty. Your schools are no good. You have no jobs. 58% of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?” Trump asks.

Meek has been battling systemic racism and criminal justice reform firsthand through his ambitious and unwavering REFORM Alliance. After being sentenced in November 2017 to two-to-four years in prison for violating probation stemming from two misdemeanors, Meek shed light on how the parole system perpetuates injustice and unfairly disadvantages people of color. The 12-year legal case was showcased in a recent Free Meek documentary series with Amazon.

The outro features Meek’s statements from an old CNN interview, “I always dreamed to being on CNN and being able to like express myself and speak for the voiceless young men of America. The first step, I would say, I grew up in American in a ruthless neighborhood where we were not protected by police. We grew up in a ruthless environment, we grew up around murder. You see murder, you see seven people die a week, I think you would probably carry a gun yourself. Would you?” CNN’s Michael Smercornish responds that he would as well.

Stream Meek’s latest track below. In related music updates, musicians across the globe have spoken up about the most recent wave of Black Lives Matter protests and the death of George Floyd. For more from HYPEBEAST, check out resources on how to tay informed, vocal and safe.