<p>It feels as though the never-ending cycle of violence in the United States is threatening to swallow the country whole. The unconscionable combination of the Alton Sterling and Philando Castile shootings within a 24-hour window this week has already sparked several protest songs in the realm of hip hop.</p>
<p>If there is a silver lining to times like these, it is that they produce a high volume of protest music. Since George Zimmerman gunned down 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012, hip hop has responded with an abundance of songs castigating police brutality and unending oppression of minorities at the hands of The Man. From <a href="/profile/YG" class="text-word" target="_blank" >YG</a>&#8217;s &#8220;Police Get Away Away Wit Murder&#8221; to J Cole&#8217;s &#8220;Be Free,&#8221; here are the 10 best hip hop protest songs released in that time period.</p><br><h2>YG &#8211; &#8220;Police Get Away Wit Murder&#8221;</h2><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/gallery/52/80/1467998052_82c0e294d100100e17f81e183717cfb7.png" alt="The 10 Best Hip Hop Protest Songs Since The Trayvon Martin Shooting"></figure><p></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Quotables</span></p>
<p>Black males in a hoodie that’s a target to them<br>They say he oversized and choked him out that was harmless to them<br>They’ll hit us and try to blame it like I ain’t owe this to them<br>But fuck it, I’m waking my people making it harder for them<br><br>We’ll put our hands up and they’ll still shoot motherfucker<br>And post on trial for one to two motherfucker<br>They give us years for guns and we can buy em off the shelf<br>But you’ll get life in the coffin if you don’t protect yourself</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AqNSylyRt3c" width="725" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p><h2>Vince Staples &#8211; &#8220;Hands Up&#8221;</h2><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/gallery/47/81/1467998147_b4bec16b9ab9424bc48c46f94117c53f.jpg" alt="The 10 Best Hip Hop Protest Songs Since The Trayvon Martin Shooting"></figure><p></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Quotables</span></p>
<p>Deangelo Lopez and Tyler Woods<br>Just a couple they gunned down around the hood<br>I guess the pigs split wigs for the greater good<br>Cause I ain&#8217;t seen them lock a swine up yet<br>At the most they reassign &#8217;em to prevent protest<br>Just your color is enough to get you under arrest<br>Strong hand of the law got me feelin&#8217; oppressed<br>If you flippin&#8217;, kill a fifty, then you get in a chair</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3EgJnXKTKmE" width="725" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p><h2><a href="/profile/Usher" class="text-word" target="_blank" >Usher</a> &#8211; &#8220;Chains&#8221; feat. <a href="/profile/Nas" class="text-word" target="_blank" >Nas</a> &amp; Bibi Bourelly</h2><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/gallery/21/83/1467998321_0bc66960d68fdbe2fbd40155293072b2.jpg" alt="The 10 Best Hip Hop Protest Songs Since The Trayvon Martin Shooting"></figure><p></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Quotables</span></p>
<p>I am Sugar Ray Robinson, Booker T. Washington<br>W. E. B. Du Bois, I&#8217;m the modern one<br>Yelling at Senators, Presidents, Congressmen<br>We got a problem that needs some acknowledgement<br>I am no prison commodity, not just a body you throw in a cell<br>For any reason, just to bother me<br>Just for your quota, so it&#8217;s rest in peace to Sean Bell</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1Knd2el4Lfw" width="725" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p><h2><a href="/profile/DoctorDre" class="text-word" target="_blank" >Dr. Dre</a> &#8211; &#8220;Animals&#8221; feat. Anderson .Paak</h2><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/gallery/34/85/1467998534_a113d1750914368f83e7ea71be3911cf.jpg" alt="The 10 Best Hip Hop Protest Songs Since The Trayvon Martin Shooting"></figure><p></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Quotables</span></p>
<p>Damn, why the fuck are they after me? Maybe cause I&#8217;m a bastard<br>Or maybe cause of the way my hair grow naturally<br>Still tryna figure out, why the fuck I&#8217;m full of rage<br>I think I noticed this bullshit right around the fifth grade<br>Paraphernalia in my locker right next to the switch blade<br>Nothing but pussy on my mind and some plans of getting paid<br>But I&#8217;m a product of the system raised on government aid<br>And I knew just how to react when it was time for that raid</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="//www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x37r24n" width="725" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><br><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x37r24n_animals-feat-anderson-paak_music" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Animals (feat. Anderson .Paak)</a> <em>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/yvesdyl1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">yvesdyl1</a></em></p><h2>Vic Mensa &#8211; &#8220;16 Shots&#8221;</h2><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/gallery/74/88/1467998874_24d3a35f91198fe8453e2151a8bbf3ca.jpg" alt="The 10 Best Hip Hop Protest Songs Since The Trayvon Martin Shooting"></figure><p></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Quotables</span></p>
<p>They threw a little girl down on the pavement<br>Pushed her with the bike and said, &#8220;Stay out the way, bitch&#8221;<br>She was bleedin&#8217; on the ground through her braces<br>This is what happens when niggas don&#8217;t stay in their places<br>The mayor duckin&#8217; when he fired the superintendent<br>But resignation come with bonuses and recognition<br>So we gon&#8217; break in the stores on Magnificent Mile<br>And if we gotta go, let&#8217;s go to prison in style</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yPMokM-9nwM" width="725" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p><h2>D&#8217;Angelo &#8211; &#8220;The Charade&#8221;</h2><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/gallery/54/89/1467998954_aba4edca71f0e23cff4a3e617a5f2c8e.jpg" alt="The 10 Best Hip Hop Protest Songs Since The Trayvon Martin Shooting"></figure><p></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Quotables</span></p>
<p>All we wanted was a chance to talk<br>&#8216;Stead we only got outlined in chalk<br>Feet have bled a million miles we&#8217;ve walked<br>Revealing at the end of the day, the charade</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IRCLjK5OWjU" width="725" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p><h2><a href="/profile/Beyonce" class="text-word" target="_blank" >Beyonce</a> &#8211; &#8220;Freedom&#8221; feat. Kendrick Lamar</h2><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/gallery/37/92/1467999237_81ab214ae2b3a39cc6c18c3780edd372.jpg" alt="The 10 Best Hip Hop Protest Songs Since The Trayvon Martin Shooting"></figure><p></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Quotable Lyrics:</span></p>
<p>&#8220;Ten Hail Marys, I meditate for practice<br>Channel 9 news tell me I&#8217;m movin&#8217; backwards<br>Eight blocks left, death is around the corner<br>Seven misleadin&#8217; statements &#8217;bout my persona<br>Six headlights wavin&#8217; in my direction<br>Five-O askin&#8217; me what&#8217;s in my possession&#8221;</p>
<p>-Kendrick</p>
<div data-freeform-responsive="true"><iframe loading="lazy" src="http://www.bet.com/video/betawards/2016/performances/beyonce-kendrick-lamar-freedom.share.responsive-true.html" width="725" height="535" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<script src="http://www.bet.com/etc/designs/betcom/js/share.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</div><h2>Run The Jewels &#8211; &#8220;Early&#8221; feat. Boots</h2><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/gallery/14/17/1468001714_acda5d7af329beb86f7c1fd9c7144097.jpg" alt="The 10 Best Hip Hop Protest Songs Since The Trayvon Martin Shooting"></figure><p></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Quotables</span></p>
<p>It be feelin&#8217; like the life that I’m livin&#8217; man out of control<br>Like every day I’m in a fight for my soul<br>Could it be that my medicine’s the evidence<br>For pigs to stop and frisk me when they rollin&#8217; round on patrol?<br>And ask “why you’re here?”<br>I just tell &#8217;em cause it is what it is<br>I live here and that’s what it is<br>He chimed “you got a dime?<br>I said “Man, I’m tryin&#8217; to smoke and chill<br>Please don’t lock me up in front of my kids</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pJJyKlRxyvA" width="725" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p><h2>Kendrick Lamar &#8211; &#8220;The Blacker the Berry&#8221;</h2><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/gallery/03/19/1468001903_626c8929ee38d8fae279e085b326c7ab.jpg" alt="The 10 Best Hip Hop Protest Songs Since The Trayvon Martin Shooting"></figure><p></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Quotables</span></p>
<p>You hate me don&#8217;t you?<br>You hate my people, your plan is to terminate my culture<br>You&#8217;re fuckin&#8217; evil I want you to recognize that I&#8217;m a proud monkey<br>You vandalize my perception but can&#8217;t take style from me<br>And this is more than confession<br>I mean I might press the button just so you know my discretion<br>I&#8217;m guardin&#8217; my feelings, I know that you feel it<br>You sabotage my community, makin&#8217; a killin&#8217;<br>You made me a killer, emancipation of a real nigga</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rMxNYQ71LOk" width="725" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p><h2>J Cole &#8211; &#8220;Be Free&#8221;</h2><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/gallery/57/21/1468002157_ab287b821b0c9fdd140fb5cef8501d89.jpg" alt="The 10 Best Hip Hop Protest Songs Since The Trayvon Martin Shooting"></figure><p></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Quotables</span></p>
<p>Can you tell me why<br>Every time I step outside I see my niggas die<br>I&#8217;m lettin&#8217; you know<br>That there ain&#8217;t no gun they make that can kill my soul</p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9VzpCmRtCL0" width="725" height="410" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>

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