Hollice Mapp releases "We Want Justice," a rally cry for black lives on his birthday
Gouyave, Grenada – June 4th, 2020 -- Grenadian recording and performing artist Hollice Mapp known professionally as Mr Killa, releases “We Want Justice” on his birthday as a rally cry for black lives. “While I am grateful to live to see another year, many of my brothers and sisters have been robbed of their God given right to breathe, to live to see another day and to just be human.” The powerful anthem, finds Mapp, the first non-Trinidadian to win the Soca Monarch title (2019) purposefully riding a trap-beat as gesture of solidarity with African-Americans who are currently at the epicenter of the police brutality crisis. “Their struggle is our struggle and I want them to know that we are with them” says Mapp who splits his time between his residences in Grenada and New York.
Written and recorded at Rebel 1 Studios, the state-of-the-art multimedia complex Mapp built in his hometown of Gouyave, Grenada the powerful and haunting track finds Mapp tackling the complex issue of systematic racial oppression while exploring possible solutions. Familiar rally cries associated with the Black Lives Matter movement can be heard throughout the song including “I Can’t Breathe” and “No Justice, No Peace.” George Floyd is among the many names Mapp calls in a touching tribute to the victims of police brutality.
Mapp an active philanthropist and founder of the not-for-profit organization, the Hollice Mapp Foundation pledges to donate proceeds from “We Want Justice” to the Black Lives Matter Movement. “We Want Justice” is available at www.mrkilla.com/wwj
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A STATEMENT BY HOLLICE MAPP AKA MR KILLA ON THE RELEASE OF “WE WANT JUSTICE”
Stirred, by emotions evoked by the cries of George Floyd, the latest victim of police brutality in the United States – I was moved to lend my voice to the calls for action. Positive actions aimed at manifesting change.
Despite being only 13 percent of the US population, African-Americans are almost three times as likely to be shot and killed by the police. Philando Castile Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Walter Scott, Breanna Taylor, Eric Garner, Freddie Grey, Sandra Bland, George Floyd are among the many, too many names we have become familiar with in recent years.
We have been oppressed, abused and disadvantaged for too long and it is time for us as a people to take back our freedom.
"We Want Justice" is my contribution to the movement taking place across the world today. A cry against the systematic racial injustices of my brothers and sisters, my tribute to the immediate family of individuals who have lost their lives to police brutality and my rally to free those who have been imprisoned unjustly.
After years of slavery and oppression, there are still chains that remain to be broken. My ancestors fought for freedom from physical chains and now is the time to be liberated from mental slavery.
Although slavery was abolished over 100 years ago its legacy lingers on in the systematic oppression of people of color. We will not allow the work of great leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Marcus Garvey and Nelson Mandela to go in vein. In the words of Nelson Mandela “It always seems impossible, until it is done”.
“For we have struggled so long for peace and when we ask for peace; they gave us brutality, when we asked for peace; they gave us war and today, without justice; there will be no peace”.
WE MUST BREATHE!
Stirred, by emotions evoked by the cries of George Floyd, the latest victim of police brutality in the United States – I was moved to lend my voice to the calls for action. Positive actions aimed at manifesting change.
Despite being only 13 percent of the US population, African-Americans are almost three times as likely to be shot and killed by the police. Philando Castile Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Walter Scott, Breanna Taylor, Eric Garner, Freddie Grey, Sandra Bland, George Floyd are among the many, too many names we have become familiar with in recent years.
We have been oppressed, abused and disadvantaged for too long and it is time for us as a people to take back our freedom.
"We Want Justice" is my contribution to the movement taking place across the world today. A cry against the systematic racial injustices of my brothers and sisters, my tribute to the immediate family of individuals who have lost their lives to police brutality and my rally to free those who have been imprisoned unjustly.
After years of slavery and oppression, there are still chains that remain to be broken. My ancestors fought for freedom from physical chains and now is the time to be liberated from mental slavery.
Although slavery was abolished over 100 years ago its legacy lingers on in the systematic oppression of people of color. We will not allow the work of great leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Marcus Garvey and Nelson Mandela to go in vein. In the words of Nelson Mandela “It always seems impossible, until it is done”.
“For we have struggled so long for peace and when we ask for peace; they gave us brutality, when we asked for peace; they gave us war and today, without justice; there will be no peace”.
WE MUST BREATHE!
