TIP Delivers “United We Stand” Poem

TIP, the artist formerly known as T.I., has used his platform to speak on the right side of justice in times past. The Atlanta entertainer did once more during an airing of the 2015 Triumph Awards where he recited a poem, “United We Stand,” that gave nods to #BlackLivesMatter, Sandra Bland and others.

TIP took to the stage while the backing band played a somber tune and the stage lights went dark. Flanked by a group of young people of color draped in all black, TIP framed the spoken word piece around Bland and mentioned other fallen persons who have been shot or killed by police such as Tamir Rice and Walter Scott.

Via Hip Hop DX:

“United we stand because we created a hashtag for Sandra Bland,” he says. “Jumped off the front of the ship and dove into the internet waves swimming with DMs, likes and comments / Not noticing how much that it makes us slaves / Chained by a man-made device small enough to fit into the palm of our hand / Guess that’s what’s made it easy to swipe to the left, scroll to the next and forget about Sandra Bland / United we stand because we wore hoodies and tshirts that read ‘Black Lives Matter’ but, ‘Quick homie take this flick, gotta make sure all my followers see this fresh fit’ / Are we really about the movement or more concerned with our follower count growing fatter?”

He ends by naming victims of violence, many of the cases involved police.

“We are Trayvon Martin / We are Jordan Davis / We are Eric Garner / We are Tamir rice / We are Walter Scott We are Eric Harris / We are Freddie Gray / And We are Sandra Bland / United we stand.”

SOURCE: HIP HOP WIRED