Following a week of protests in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd, Meek Mill dropped a hard-hitting new song that tackles the issues of racial inequality in America.
“Other Side of America” opens with a clip of Donald Trump lobbying to African-American voters during a 2016 campaign rally: “You’re living in poverty. Your schools are no good. You have no jobs. Fifty-eight percent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?”
From there, Meek Mill paints a vivid picture of life on “the other side of America.” “We was starvin’ for a thousand nights/Livin’ like we tryin’ to die tonight/Gloc 40 sound like dynamite,” he says on the track. “I was fuckin up my cop money/Sellin’ soap like it’s China white/OG’s said ‘you fuckin’ the block up’/I was mad I was tryna fight.”
The track ends with an excerpt from Meek Mill’s interview on CNN’s Smerconish. “I always dreamed to be on CNN to be able to express myself and speak for the voiceless young men of America,” the rapper says. “The first step I would say: ‘I grew up in America in a ruthless neighborhood where we are not protected by police, we grew up in ruthless environments, we grew up around murder, you see murder, you see seven people die a week, I think you would probably carry a gun yourself. Would you?’”
Prior to the song’s arrival, Meek Mill reposted that segment on Twitter:
OTHERSIDE OF AMERIKKKA AND IM STAYING THERE FOREVER! pic.twitter.com/9f1g3nfw3x
— Meek Mill (@MeekMill) June 5, 2020