In the wake of the murders of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and more innocent black men (and boys) last year, many artists released tribute tracks. The Game called upon nearly every rapper for the well-intentioned but ultimately weak "Don't Shoot," G-Unit got a little angrier on "Ahhh Shit," and hell, even Young Thug offered up an "R.I.P. Mike Brown" on his recent track "OD." But the best response to these despicable killings was a song that didn't mention any of the victims by name: Raury's "Fly."
Released in January, and sounding more akin to a famous Billy Bragg track than anything rap-related, "Fly" has now gotten a video that hammers its point home even harder. Featuring stick figure illustration, the video highlights high and low points of African American history, heartbreakingly concluding with a parade of last year's victims in angel form. When experienced with Raury's impassioned singing, this is one hell of a powerful video.
