Singer J Cole has released a song entitled "Be Free" in honour of the late Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri last Saturday.
Cole released the song on Friday via Soundcloud and sent it to his publicist Kathryn Frazier who forwarded the song's link.
"Rest in Peace to Michael Brown and to every young black man murdered in America, whether by the hands of white or black," Cole wrote. "I pray that one day the world will be filled with peace and rid of injustice. Only then will we all Be Free - Cole."
The song, which runs just over four minutes, has been listened to over 100,000 times in the seven hours since its release. "And I'm in denial, and it don't take no x-ray to see right through my smile," Cole sings with a keyboard accompanying him. "All we wanna do is take the chains off, all we wanna do is be free... can you tell me why every time I step outside I see my n***ers die, I'm letting you know that there ain't no gun they can make that can kill my soul."
The song also includes the audio from an interview Dorian Johnson, 22, gave regarding what he saw when Brown, 18, was killed.
"There was a time in my life when I gave a f**k," Cole wrote in a blog post with a photo of Brown lying on the ground shot.
Every chance I got was screaming about it. I was younger. It's so easy to try to save the world when you're in college. You got nothing but time and no responsibility. But soon life hits you. No more dorms, no more meal plan, no more refund check. N***a need a job. N***a got rent. Got car note. Cable bill. Girlfriend moves in and becomes wife. Baby on the way. Career advances. Instagram is poppin. Lebron leaves Miami. LIFE HITS. We become distracted. We become numb. I became numb. But not anymore. That coulda been me, easily. It could have been my best friend. I'm tired of being desensitized to the murder of black men. I don't give a f**k if it's by police or peers. This sh** is not normal. I made a song. This is how we feel.
Cole's song already has caught the attention of many on Twitter. Here are some of the reactions:
Cole's song comes at a time of rapid developments in the St. Louis suburb.
On Friday, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson identified Darren Wilson as the officer who shot and killed Brown. This was following the call for Missouri State Highway Patrol to take over security in the area by state governor Jay Nixon.
