{"id":4220,"date":"2018-08-10T11:54:59","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T15:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/lets-rap-about-flint\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T18:47:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T23:47:48","slug":"lets-rap-about-flint","status":"publish","type":"update","link":"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/updates\/lets-rap-about-flint\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s Rap About Flint"},"template":"","class_list":["post-4220","update","type-update","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","update_type-blog"],"acf":{"details":{"":null,"featured_image":3029,"update_type":[364],"focus_area":false,"authors":false,"abstract":""},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"As famous rapper J.Cole once said, \u201cLemme take y\u2019all back man as I do so well\u2026\u201d\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s January 2016. You\u2019re on the way to the gym to keep that New Year\u2019s resolution you had made about being healthier. Driving in the car, Drake\u2019s Hotline Bling is playing in the background. All of a sudden, a brief radio break comes on, where it is announced that Flint, Michigan has declared a state of emergency. For the last two years, the 100,000 residents in Flint have been unknowingly drinking contaminated water from the Flint River rather than relying on water from Detroit. This switch was justified as a cheaper alternative for the city. However, residents have been complaining about the color, taste, and smell of the water and have been reporting incidents of rashes, hair loss, increased irritability, slowed cognitive function, etc. At first, the state ignored these reports and insisted the water was safe, but eventually, Governor Rick Snyder and the Michigan legislature were forced to acknowledge the high levels of toxic lead in the water. The water contamination has had such widespread, pernicious effects on the residents that, on January 16th, 2016, President Obama declared Flint in a state of emergency.<\/em>\r\n\r\nBut there\u2019s hope! Although the people in Flint had trouble getting needed media attention, hip-hop\/rap artists have taken up the cause. In efforts to bring awareness to the situation, many rappers have stepped into the recording studio to voice their opinions about Flint. Therefore, the rap industry has been one of the platforms that has kept the national spotlight on Flint.\r\n\r\nRap and hip-hop were created out of the need for a non-traditional political platform, often vocalizing the troubles that (primarily) people of color, lower economic background, and other marginalized communities face. Rap is more than just music seeped in profanity and promiscuity. From gun violence to police brutality to environmental justice topics such as Flint, rap\/ hip-hop music has served as an agent of social change and justice. It is a way to circumvent the bipartisan nature of politics and media and give emphasis to issues that should be on the nation\u2019s mind. Rappers not only help to voice the struggles of their audience but also support their audience.\r\n\r\nGoing back to Flint as an example, rapper Diddy partnered with AQUAhydrate to donate $1 million worth of water bottles to Flint residents. Rapper Meek Mill also donated 60,000 water bottles to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan. West Coast hip-hop legend, Snoop Dogg, flew out to Flint to meet with Mayor Weaver to talk about how he could help with the situation in Flint. The list could go on.\r\n\r\nHere are some specific song references that rappers have made that include powerful lyrics about Flint:\r\n\r\nBig Sean (ft. Eminem) \u2013 \u201cNo Favors\u201d<\/strong><\/a>\r\n\u201cDon, Don, Don life, I do this for the crib, the D to Flint\r\nKids who get sick with lead, others get hit with the lead\u201d\r\n\r\n(Big Sean and Eminem are both Detroit natives, so the events happening in Flint have hit very close to home)\r\n\r\nBig Sean \u2013 \u201cSavage Time\u201d <\/a><\/strong>\r\n\u201cImma take that water from Flint, and Imma go up there to D.C.\r\nImma make the president drink, he wouldn\u2019t even let it touch his sink\u201d\r\n\r\nPusha T (ft. Jay Z) \u2013 \u201cDrug Dealers Anonymous\u201d<\/a><\/strong>\r\n\u201cAmerica\u2019s worst nightmares in Flint\r\nChildren of a lesser God when your melanin\u2019s got a tint\u201d\r\n\r\nLogic \u2013 \u201cAmerica\u201d<\/a><\/strong>\r\n\u201cAin\u2019t like Flint ain\u2019t got clean water\r\nDirty politics never come clean\u201d\r\n\r\nVic Mensa \u2013 \u201cShades of Blue\u201d<\/strong> <\/a>\r\n\u201cI read a story about a woman with her daughter in Flint\r\nShe got lead poisoning from showers in the morning\r\nWhen the governor switched out the pipes to bring water in\r\nTo the city river cause he said they can\u2019t afford to get clean water\r\nSo now the poor people get the short end\r\nOf the stick\u2026\u201d\r\n\r\nThe Game (ft. Will.I.Am & Nas) \u2013 \u201cThe Ghetto\u201d<\/a><\/strong>\r\n\u201cThe blocks in Watts got crooked cops that frame the innocent\r\nNo different from Flint, Michigan\u201d\r\n\r\nCommon (ft. Stevie Wonder) \u2013 \u201cBlack America Again\u201d<\/a><\/strong>\r\n\u201cAs dirty as the water in Flint, the system is\r\nIs it a felony or misdemeanor\u201d\r\n\r\nThis multi-million dollar music artists could and have helped support people who are disenfranchised as seen by the example of Flint. Therefore, I urge environmental justice communities to use rap\/hip-hop music as a \u201csocial glue\u201d that unites people and gives the unheard voices a voice. Use the music industry\u2019s money to aid the implementation of environmental justice. Let rap put a national spotlight on environmental justice issues like food deserts, gentrification, landfill placement, etc. Rap is a valuable tool that needs to be weaponized. So let\u2019s rap about all environmental justice issues!\r\n\r\n ","include_drop_cap":false}}]},"yoast_head":"\nLet\u2019s Rap About Flint - WE ACT for Environmental Justice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/updates\/lets-rap-about-flint\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Let\u2019s Rap About Flint - WE ACT for Environmental Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/es\/updates\/lets-rap-about-flint\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WE ACT for Environmental Justice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-16T23:47:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/weact.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/FlintFI.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"240\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/lets-rap-about-flint\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/weact.org\/updates\/lets-rap-about-flint\/\",\"name\":\"Let\u2019s Rap About Flint - 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