Jussie Smollett has shared a new track that touches upon his recent high-profile court case – listen to ‘Thank You God’ below.
The Empire actor was sentenced to 150 days in prison last month after being found guilty on five counts of disorderly conduct pertaining to a police report he filed on January 29, 2019 in which he claimed he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack in Chicago.
Following his sentencing, Smollett’s lawyers launched an appeal and he was released from Cook County jail on March 16 after signing a $150,000 (£114,000) personal recognisance bond, which doesn’t require him to pay any money if he appears in court for future proceedings.
On Friday (April 8), the Empire actor shared a new single called ‘Thank You God’, a shiny R&B number that references his December court case.
“It’s like they’re hell-bent on not solving the crime/ Taking out the elements of race and trans and homophobia that’s straight taking lives/ But turn around and act like I’m the one that killed the strides,” Smollett raps on the track.
Later, he adds: “I can’t be mad/ Take my ego out/ Some people searching for fame/ Some people chasing that clout/ Just remember this, this ain’t that situation/ You think I’m stupid enough to kill my reputation?”
You can listen to ‘Thank You God’ below:
Smollett has dedicated ‘Thank You God’ to “the people who kept it real”, and he’s donating all profits from the track to social justice organisations Rainbow Push Coalition, Secure The Bag Safety, and Illinois Innocence Project.
During Smollett’s trial in December last year, brothers Amimbola and Olabingo Osundairo testified that the actor had recruited them to help him stage an attack in an effort to boost the actor’s publicity, and were paid $3,500 (£2,646).
They also claimed Smollett, who is Black and gay, had instructed them to put a noose around his neck, yell racist and homophobic slurs at him and rough him up, in view of a surveillance camera.
After he was found guilty and received his sentence, Smollett continued to state his innocence. “I am innocent,” Smollett said in court. “I could have said I am guilty a long time ago.”
He added: “If I did this, then it means that I stuck my fist in the fears of Black Americans in this country for over 400 years and the fears of the LGBT community. But I did not do this.”
The post Listen to Jussie Smollett reference his court case on new track ‘Thank You God’ appeared first on NME.
