nasty c

Nasty C
Image via Instagram/Nasty C

Nasty C takes a stand on ‘They Don’t’ song with TI

Hip-hop artist Nasty C’s powerful song ‘They Don’t’ features American rapper Clifford Joseph Harris, also known as TI.

nasty c

Nasty C
Image via Instagram/Nasty C

South African hip-hop artist Nasty C released a song titled They Don’t featuring American rapper Clifford Joseph Harris, also known as TI. They Don’t takes a strong and steady stand against the “racial injustices in the wake of police brutality protests”.

Nasty C  made the track with the aim of being a little something to heal, and also dropped the tune into a composite video on YouTube on Tuesday, 16 June – South Africa’s Youth Day.

‘Stop killing us’

Nasty C’s release ‘They Don’t’ takes a strong stand on the value of black lives

The official video shows a black screen with a watermark that reads “Stop killing us” as the lyrics run across.

The lyrics of the song match the theme, as they say:

“They don’t want me to win, they don’t want me to eat, they don’t want to see a black man succeed. They don’t want to see me take my brothers out of the streets”.

TI is a huge name in the international music industry so South Africans are more than proud that one of our own has had the opportunity to collaborate with him on such a meaningful song.

TI has also been very vocal through social media on the #BlackLivesMatter movement. He even changed his biography section on Instagram to #JusticeforSandraBland and #UsOrElse.

Influential deaths

TI names influential deaths in black history which have shaped the tone and emotions behind the song:

  • George Floyd – The 46-year-old African-American man killed by white police officers in May 2020. His murder sparked both the physical and digital protests for racial injustices under #BlackLivesMatter.
  • Emmett Till – An African American 14-year-old boy whose murder in 1955 sparked a civil rights movement.
  • Sean Bell – An African-American man who was killed by the police in New York City.
  • Breona Taylor – A 26-year-old African-American woman who was shot by police officers this year.
  • Sandra Bland – A 28-year-old African-American woman who was found hung in a jail cell days after her arrest.

TI directly addresses the George Floyd tragedy:

“How you are supposed to serve and protect with your knee on my neck” go his lyrics, referring to how the American police officers who were supposed to serve and protect citizens killed Floyd, with a knee on his neck.

Until Freedom Fund

Nasty C has said all funds raised by the song will go to the Until Freedom Fund, a social justice organisation that addresses racial injustice and stands for bringing justice. The fund supports bringing justice to Brenna Taylor and also sets out what actions can be taken.

Money raised will also go to South Africa’s Solidarity Fund, a fund created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in this country.

The song is available on various platforms namely Apple music, Spotify, YouTube music, Google play, Joox, Deezer and YouTube.

Twitter praise for Nasty C

Twitter is loving the song and calling Nasty C the “Greatest Rapper in Africa”.

Here are a few reactions to the song on Twitter: