(Photo By Band Camp)
“What Justice Looks Like” (preview/purchase)
Haven’t gotten the chance to feature Milwaukee emcee/activist Gat Turner in a while. So when he reached out to share his latest offering inspired by the controversial verdict in the infamous Trayvon Martin case, decided to bring it to the site. On the evening of the 13th of this month, the world was sent into a frenzy when George Zimmerman was found not guilty on any account for his shooting of Florida youth Trayvon Martin. Some say race was a key factor in the decision while others argue that the prosecution dropped the ball in a major way. The underlying issue though was the lenient message that the verdict sent about taking a human life. A swarm of peaceful protests and other means of expression took place worldwide in response to the verdict. People wanted to express their displeasure without any more violence of any kind taking place. The ventures received lots of positive acclaim but there were a few who believed that they had a right to be upset and express themselves as well. Gat Turner falls into said group.
Gat decided to channel his views on the matter through Hip-Hop. He teamed up with Araab Muzik and let his feelings flow freely. The production here is perfect. It contains a clean hard hitting bass, enterprising musical ingredients, and a contemplative vibe. This is a shorter record, so there is no hook used. The content is primarily rhymes with a few spoken words from Gat here and there. The rhymes are of top-shelf quality. Gat exhibits an intense flow, frank wordplay, and heavy thought provoking lyrics. He conveys a very fierce message of his sentiments towards the Trayvon Martin case. He even goes so far as to take the President and other important figures in the African American community to task. A couple of noteworthy lines are: “Black mask, black gloves. Get my orders from above. I don’t do this out of hate. Man, I do this out of love. And not because I’m mad. Just cause I’m a man. Yo, I knew I had to get ’em when Satan showed his hand. Flip the script. If Trayvon had a glock with sixteen in the clip. One in the chamber. Felt he was in danger. Blasted a stranger. When Blacks stand they ground, man they say it’s out of anger. He must a been a gangsta. Already know how the story goes.” Those are some attention grabbing opening bars right there. The song ends just as strongly with Gat uttering two simple words: “No Peace.” Overall, this was a very bold and honest tribute to Trayvon Martin.
**My Two Cents: I didn’t post on the Martin case because I wanted the site to serve as a neutral source where people could escape the madness; since it was all over the net, television, etc. However, I too feel like the verdict was a huge injustice and that Zimmerman should have been punished. But I’m also a firm believer in karma. He will get what he deserves. But I think Gat Turner did a great job with this track and I love the fact that he’s not afraid to speak his mind. Rest In Paradise to Trayvon Martion, gone but certainly never forgotten. -MinM
