The rapper Kendrick Lamar has said that what happened in Ferguson, – where an unarmed black teenager was shot and killed by police – “should never have happened“.  In an interview with Billboard, he talked about the racial tensions in America, including his own previous exchanges with police officers and revealed that he was treated unjustly by the LAPD “plenty of times. All the time.”

kendrick-lamar

Though the rapper refused to divulge any further details, he added: “I got into some things, but God willing, he had favoritism over me and my spirit.” Lamar acknowledged the historic tension between police and African-American communities, stating: “I wish somebody would look in our neighborhood knowing that it’s already a situation, mentally, where it’s fucked up. What happened should’ve never happened. Never. But when we don’t have respect for ourselves, how do we expect them to respect us? It starts from within. Don’t start with just a rally, don’t start from looting – it starts from within.”

—> What are your thoughts?

Words by Sam J