WARNING: This story contains explicit language.
After remaining silent for weeks on his social media platforms, Bad Bunny has broken his silence and shared his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd.
On May 19, the reggaetón superstar wrote, “bye, I left,” which is also the name of his song Bye, Mi Fui from his latest album Las que no iban a salir.
Now the 26-year-old rapper has released a lyrical statement titled “Forgive Me”, which was published in TIME magazine.
The Mia rapper said he is still off social media because he doesn’t have a phone.
“I simply do not have a phone,” he explained to TIME. “But I know I can contribute much more from here and from the heart, as I always do.”
Bad Bunny mentioned that some artists will upload a photo just to “calm public pressure” but he wants “to go deeper and see in what way I can serve.”
“There are artists who only upload a photo or a basic message just to calm public pressure or to look ‘good,’” Bad Bunny told the outlet of other celebrities. “Not me… I want to go deeper and see in what way I can serve, how I can support the fight against a systematic monster that has been (around for) centuries.”
He said that “in the case of reggaetón music, we have always struggled against discrimination, and even though today it is the world’s number one Latino genre, we continue to suffer from that discrimination, both in the world for being Latino, and in the Latino community itself for being a genre that comes from the street.”
Bad Bunny also said that there are “many simple but powerful ways” to help the Black Lives Matter movement “such as teaching, educating your community, your family, your friends.”
“At the moment, we are working on where to contribute seriously, economically and humanely, using the resources we have to support and in some way be part of the #BlackLivesMatter movement,” he said
His lyrical statement took aim at U.S. President Donald Trump and he is asking his fans to forgive him for not speaking out sooner.
“Forgive my silence. But I can’t even believe this is still happening. Maybe it’s because I’ve always seen people’s hearts and, in my house, I was always taught that we are all the same regardless of race, religion and surname; that we are all brothers/sisters,” his lyrical statement began.
He continued, “I SWEAR I don’t feel well, and I don’t think I can express myself properly, I swear it hurts! It hurts to know that people are still being killed because of the colour of their skin. LIVING IN A WORLD LIKE THIS, NONE OF US CAN BREATHE!”
“F–K DONALD TRUMP! PRESIDENT OF RACISM! YOUR HATE AND TYRANNY, THAT’S TERRORISM. DON’T STOP THE FIGHT,” Bad Bunny continued. “DON’T LOWER YOUR FISTS, KNOW THAT WE ARE ALL HOME, THAT THIS IS OUR LAND.
“I remember the white boy with the ‘bad hair’, that’s what they would say, just like they did to my Black neighbours, and they believed it too. Bad? Bad are those who still think that way, WITHOUT REALIZING THAT THE SAME BLOOD RUNS THROUGH OUR VEINS,” the Soy Peor rapper continued.
“Who taught you to be this way? Why don’t you seek change?”
He continued, “TO MURDER AND HUMILIATE THOSE OF ANOTHER SKIN COLOUR, THAT 500 YEARS LATER, THAT PAIN KEEPS DRAGGING ON. HATE DOESN’T STOP HATE, IT JUST MAKES IT WORSE. IN A WORLD LIKE THAT, WHO WANTS TO GIVE THEIR LOVE?”
“NEVER WAIT FOR ARTISTS, OR FOR FICTITIOUS HEROES, YOU ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE THE POWER!!! TEACH YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS TO RESPECT AND LOVE REGARDLESS OF SKIN COLOUR,” Bad Bunny added.
Read Bad Bunny’s full statement translated into English below via Time.
FORGIVE ME
Forgive my silence.
But I can’t even believe this is still happening.
Maybe it’s because I’ve always seen people’s hearts and, in my house, I was always taught that we are all the same regardless of race, religion and surname; that we are all brothers/sisters.
I SWEAR I don’t feel well, and I don’t think I can express myself properly,
I swear it hurts! It hurts to know that people are still being killed because of the colour of their skin.
LIVING IN A WORLD LIKE THIS, NONE OF US CAN BREATHE!
F–K DONALD TRUMP!
PRESIDENT OF RACISM!
YOUR HATE AND TYRANNY,
THAT’S TERRORISM.
DON’T STOP THE FIGHT,
DON’T LOWER YOUR FISTS,
KNOW THAT WE ARE ALL HOME,
THAT THIS IS OUR LAND.
I remember the white boy with the “bad hair,” that’s what they would say,
just like they did to my Black neighbours, and they believed it too.
Bad? Bad are those who still think that way,
WITHOUT REALIZING THAT THE SAME BLOOD RUNS THROUGH OUR VEINS.
Who taught you to be this way?
Why don’t you seek change?
MAYBE THE PRESS IS TO BLAME FOR NEVER SHOWING THE TRUTH
OR HISTORY CLASSES THAT DON’T TEACH US A REAL ACCOUNT OF EVENTS
AND SHOW BLACK SLAVES WITH SUCH NORMALCY
AND WHO STILL CALL THIS BRUTALITY A “DISCOVERY.”
TO MURDER AND HUMILIATE THOSE OF ANOTHER SKIN COLOUR,
THAT 500 YEARS LATER,
THAT PAIN KEEPS DRAGGING ON.
HATE DOESN’T STOP HATE,
IT JUST MAKES IT WORSE.
IN A WORLD LIKE THAT, WHO WANTS TO GIVE THEIR LOVE?
IF IT WAS UP TO ME, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED,
IF IT WAS UP TO ME, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE EXISTED.
YOU CAN’T KNOW SOMEONE BY SIMPLY LOOKING AT THEIR FACE,
YOU CAN’T KNOW SOMEONE BY ONLY LOOKING AT THEIR OUTER APPEARANCE.
FORGIVE ME THAT MY ANGER TODAY IS SILENT.
FORGIVE ME FOR FEELING IMPOTENT TODAY.
I SWEAR TO YOU I LOVE YOU AND I WILL ALWAYS STAND BY MY PEOPLE,
BUT WHAT’S IMPORTANT IS THAT YOU GUYS ALWAYS FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN.
NEVER WAIT FOR ARTISTS, OR FOR FICTITIOUS HEROES, YOU ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE THE POWER!!! TEACH YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS TO RESPECT AND LOVE REGARDLESS OF SKIN COLOUR. EDUCATE THOSE WHO DO NOT SEEM TO KNOW ABOUT THE HISTORY OF SUFFERING AND STRUGGLE THAT BLACK PEOPLE HAVE ENDURED, ABOUT THE INJUSTICES WE CARRIED FOR CENTURIES. MAYBE WE WON’T CHANGE THE WORLD TODAY, BUT TODAY WE CAN WORK ON MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR TOMORROW.
#BLACKLIVESMATTER
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