J Cole Sees a Future Where We Can All Be Free

As each day passes, I do a brief check of Twitter hoping that the mess surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown will stop getting worse. Sadly, the response keeps elevating and the public outcry keeps escalating. I keep questioning what the bigger message we're all going to learn from this will be. Will it be related to race? Will it be related to the irrational escalation of force? Will it be the misuse of firearms? Will it be better training for officers? It all doesn't make sense yet, but I have faith that Michael Brown's death will not be in vain. It was needless and it was probably the tip of the iceberg of what's going on in a small town in Missouri, but so many people are tuning in now that there's a perfect opportunity for us to fix a problem that has been festering for years.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not half as close to what happened as J Cole has been at times in his life. But I applaud him for acting on his impulse to vent and use his voice to continue the conversation in a positive direction. Below is J Cole's message, which sets up his new track Be Free, which is a painfully emotional tribute to the memory of Michael Brown...#BeFree

"There was a time in my life when I gave a f*ck. Every chance I got I was screaming about it. I was younger. It's so easy to try to save the world when you're in college. You got nothing but time and no responsibility. But soon life hits you. No more dorms, no more meal plan, no more refund check. N*gga need a job. N*gga got rent. Got car note. Cable bill. Girlfriend moves in and becomes wife. Baby on the way. Career advances. Instagram is poppin. Lebron leaves Miami. LIFE HITS. We become distracted. We become numb. I became numb. But not anymore. That coulda been me, easily. It could have been my best friend. I'm tired of being desensitized to the murder of black men. I don't give a f*ck if it's by police or peers. This sh*t is not normal. I made a song. This is how we feel. Rest in Peace to Michael Brown and to every young black man murdered in America, whether by the hands of white or black. I pray that one day the world will be filled with peace and rid of injustice. Only then will we all Be Free."

J Cole - Be Free