Benny The Butcher (aka Jeremie Pennick) has shared a poignant new song titled ‘Welcome To The States’, addressing the recent mass shooting that occurred in a Buffalo supermarket.
The terrorist attack took place on Saturday May 14, and has been reported to be racially motivated. During it, a white man (alleged to be 18-year-old Payton S. Gendron) shot 13 people – 11 of them Black – at a Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue. 10 of those who were shot died from their injuries.
Pennick directly references the shooting on ‘Welcome To The States’, where – over the instrumental for Kendrick Lamar’s recent joint with Taylour Paige, ‘We Cry Together’ – he raps: “Welcome to the States / Where we dyin’ over our skin colour and race / Ideologies formed on hate / Now the grocery stores ain’t safe.”
The song was released today (June 7). In an accompanying video, Pennick pointed out the harrowing fact that “there have been at least 233 mass shooting incidents” seen across the United States between January 1 and June 1 of 2022.
Have a look at the video below:
Alongside the release of ‘Welcome To The States’, Pennick launched a fundraiser for victims of the Buffalo shooting. 100 per cent of profits earned from sales of a “Pray For Buffalo ‘NY” t-shirt – available here – will be donated to the Buffalo 5-14 Survivors Fund, which was established by the National Compassion Fund in partnership with Top’s Supermarkets.
Pennick noted that the fund has already raised close to $2.5million (£2million) since it launched on May 16, “all of which is paid directly to the survivors and victims of the mass shooting”. You can also donate directly to the fund via GoFundMe.
Back in April, Pennick revealed that his planned UK tour dates – initially slated for the end of that month – had been cancelled. He cited “old FBI reports” and “a new felony charge” for the cancellation, telling fans they’d learn more in an upcoming documentary. The rapper released his third studio album, ‘Tana Talk 4’, in March via Griselda Records / Black Soprano Family.
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