A group of 12 top rappers, including Diddy, Rick Ross, and 2 Chainz, have come together to record a song in memory of Michael Brown, the black teenager who was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson earlier this month. The six-minute track is called "Don't Shoot" and features a verse from nearly every rapper, all talking about Brown's shooting, discrimination, and the need for change. It's a seriously good song, and the artists' expression of sorrow and their feeling of helplessness makes this a hard one to stomach. The track is available to buy on iTunes, and all profits are headed to a GoFundMe campaign for Brown.
The recording of "Don't Shoot" was organized by The Game, who tells Rolling Stone that he had an easy time getting everyone together to record this after the events in Ferguson. The song also features Fabolous, Wale, DJ Khaled, Swizz Beatz, Yo Gotti, Curren$y, Problem, King Pharaoh and the R&B group TGT, who sing the hook. "I am a black man with kids of my own that I love more than anything, and I cannot fathom a horrific tragedy like Michael Brown's happening to them," The Game tells Rolling Stone. "This possibility has shaken me to my core." The singer Lauryn Hill also presented a song for Ferguson, releasing a demo of an old track called "Black Rage."