When Questlove speaks on social issues, people will stop and listen. He has established himself as someone socially aware enough to make statements on the issues facing our society that make sense and spark intelligent debate. In light of the recent Michael Brown and Eric Garner grand jury decisions not to indict the cops who killed the two men, Questlove has called up his fellow hip hop to start addressing the issues with an intelligent, socially aware approach that will help spur the issues forward (via Billboard). He is alarmed at the lack of voices being heard from the hip-hop community who have not taken action beyond a 140 characters on social media expressing their outrage. In a message posted to his Instagram, Questlove expressed his desire for more activist songs coming from the hip hop community that have "real narratives," are "songs with spirit in them" and most important songs with solutions and questions.

We have seen some artists come out and take a stand against the current state of relations between the black community and the police. T.I., Alicia Keys, J Cole, G-Unit and Lauren Hill have all expressed their sentiments on the situation, but Questlove is looking for more then the current list of artists. He wants to see a scene-wide movement towards activism that presumably would not just end with the fallout of these two cases, but keep the discussion going on issues that effect the African American community for years to come. 

In an interview with Cornell West in Interview Magazine, The Roots drummer thought there might have been some activism in 2003 during rhe Bush years after the start of the Iraq War. He admits that he "couldn't have been more wrong" and saw the music scene fall silent. He hopes that does not happen again.

Read the Instagram post below.

 I urge and challenge musicians and artists alike to push themselves to be a voice of the times that we live in. I know that many see what happened to Dixie Chicks' #NatalieMaines @mainesmusic (she bravely expressed her opinion/dismay on the Bush administration declaring war & was unjustly targeted....while in hindsight being CORRECT) suddenly there was an onslaught of radio silence from artists across the board (correction not everyone was silent, but the silence was deafening) although I'm kinda/sorta addressing the hip hop nation I really apply this challenge to ALL artists. We need new Dylans. New Public Enemys. New Simones. New De La Roachas. New ideas! But it just doesn't stop there!! We need outlets (hello #ClearChannel #RadioOne #Vh1) to balance the system. Yeah I'm just as guilty of feeling the high of all that I despise ("Devil's Pie" D'angelo) but the reason why this nation seems to be moving 3 steps ahead in some areas.....but then 7 steps backwards in every area is a lack of balance. I'm not saying every song gotta be "Fight The Power" but in times like these we need to be more community minded (taking a wild guess that "urban radio's" format didn't change much from the pre program stuff (using that word *politely*) we've been hearing for years. & when I say challenge I don't mean breathless race to the finish on who makes the more banging "Fuck Tha Police" sequel. I mean real stories. Real narratives. Songs with spirit in them. Songs with solutions. Songs with questions. Protest songs don't have to be boring or non danceable or ready made for the next Olympics. They just have to speak truth. I laugh & have fun w "Bitch You Guessed It" like everyone else. But my soul is aching man. Seriously just ONE or Two songs that change the course. This is something I feel the need and urgency to put out there. #EricGarner #MikeBrown #JusticeForAll #FeedMySoul #HandsUpDontShoot #ICantBreathe

A photo posted by Questlove Gomez (@questlove) on Dec 12, 2014 at 9:09am PST

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