Rapper Talib Kweli Claims Police Threatened His Life in Ferguson

Rapper Talib Kweli Claims Police Threatened His Life in Ferguson
Press photo

Brooklyn-based rapper/activist Talib Kweli, probably best known for his 2002 single "Get By," produced by Kanye West, as well as his work with Mos Def as one half of Black Star, famously got into a heated argument with CNN anchor Don Lemon in Ferguson a couple of weeks ago -- but apparently that was not the most combative exchange during his time in north St. Louis County.

See also: Talib Kweli Visits Ferguson, Squares Off With CNN Reporter

"Was my life threatened in Ferguson? Oh, yeah," Kweli tells Billboard magazine. I had a cop telling me he was going to blow 'my [expletive] head off.'"

According to the rapper, another officer on the scene was unhappy with what he saw and chastised his colleagues, saying, "These people didn't do anything. You have to let them go."

Kweli claims that if it were not for that officer's actions, he would have been arrested.

Read Kweli's full account of the events below:

Was my life threatened in Ferguson? Oh, yeah. I had a cop telling me he was going to blow 'my (expletive) head off.' I was with poet Jessica Care Moore and activist professor Rosa Clemente. We got chased, and people next to me got tackled. The cops were tackling people like lions tackle gazelles. I didn't get tackled, but I got stopped. They pointed guns at my group and they made us lay on the ground while they secured the area. And there was a black cop who got upset at the way the police were treating us. He said, 'These people didn't do anything. You have to let them go.' If he didn't step up, I would have been arrested.


About The Author

Daniel Hill

Daniel Hill is editor at large for the Riverfront Times and he demands to be taken seriously, despite all evidence to the contrary. Follow him on Twitter at @rftmusic.
Scroll to read more Music News & Interviews articles (1)

Newsletters

Join Riverfront Times Newsletters

Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox.