From Ozone Magazine:
Ozone reached out to Bay Area rappers E-40 and Universal Republic recording artist Bobby Brackins to allow members of the Hip Hop community, both seasoned and new, to offer their views on what many are calling an injustice.
E-40: It was clear to see that Oscar was on his stomach and they had him contained. It wasn’t like he was fighting the police. They was on his back. First of all, a taser is much lighter than a gun. So I don’t see how that was a mistake. Another thing is that after he shot him, he acting like it was nothing. He didn’t trip at all, it was like he did it before. I feel like it should’ve been a harsher sentence and he should have been fully convicted. I feel like the jury was unfair. There were no African Americans on the jury. I think it was wrong. I know the police are supposed to do their job, but that was wrong. He knows what he was doing when he killed him. Oscar didn’t think he was going to die that day. He was in the most harmless position possible.
Bobby Brackins: I feel like it’s crazy. It’s a real injustice. I don’t understand how you can be on video camera with your back to somebody in handcuffs and get killed and [the killer] gets away with involuntary manslaughter. It makes no sense to me and it just shows how corrupt the justice system can be. Oakland has been through a lot of hardships. I’m only 21 years old and a lot of my friends out there have [been killed]. You know the system is corrupt but you’ve just gotta try to be as positive and hopeful as possible. Hopefully, if more people around the world hear about the situation, the government and police officers will open their eyes and realize that they can’t get away with doing crimes like that.
If you’re not familar with the Oscar Grant situation and it’s aftermath, click here.