Rapper and native of St. Louis Nelly has been under heavy scrutiny, mainly from social media and #blacktwitter, for his delayed response to the Ferguson protest following the killing of unarmed teen Michael Brown.
Yesterday, the Country Grammar emcee made up for lost time by walking with protesters in support of the protests with his fellow Missourians.
Though the majority of the crowd was happy for Nelly’s presence, things took a turn when the 39 year old rapper addressed the crowd with a bull horn, urging citizens to have a plan. In series of tweets from journalists on the scene, it seems that message generated a lukewarm response.
Nelly to #ferguson protestors: “We can’t overreact.” Says showing destruction is working backwards.
— Amanda Terkel (@aterkel) August 19, 2014
Nelly orating with a bullhorn. Tells crowd they need a plan. People ask what his plan is. He doesn’t have a plan pic.twitter.com/CywUyVkGmA
— Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) August 19, 2014
Lot of people seriously unimpressed with Nelly. “You got options,” he tells crowd. “YOU got options — you’re rich,” a guy shouts back.
— Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) August 19, 2014
In an emotionally charged environment, do you think Nelly’s message of not overreacting was appropriate? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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