The shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin has grabbed the world’s attention and encouraged thousands of people to don hoodies, hold vigils, and speak out against his recently charged killer.
Now Florida rapper Plies is combining all three of those acts with a new tribute song, “We are Trayvon,” uploaded Thursday afternoon on YouTube. (The single is available on iTunes.)
“Hey Trayvon. I know you up in heaven walking on gold, little bro,” Plies says in the music video, standing in front of a painting of Martin. “I just want to tell you you something little bro. You will forever live on.”
Pies is not none for such gestures. His hits include “Shawty” and “Bust it Baby Pt. 2.” But “We are Trayvon” is a surprisingly strong anthem and tribute, with plenty of symbolic imagery–both lyrically and visually in the video.
YouTubers seem to agree. The video has been stuck on 310 views, a common bug that indicates the number of views rose so rapidly that YouTube’s servers couldn’t keep up.
“Plies is the LAST person I thought would go out of their way to pay tribute to Trayvon after all the songs he makes about goons and guns and stuff,” commented Pric3less1. “Nonetheless, nice work.”
