During his appearance on Hot 97's Ebro In The Morning on Wednesday, October 11, Waka Flocka dropped some science on race that a lot of people might not be ready for. The topic came up after the Atlanta rapper was asked to share his thoughts on current events in the nation. Waka hammered home the degree to which citizens have become desensitized to violence, as became evident with the mass shooting that took place in Las Vegas last month. Then he segued into the conversation on the protests occupying the NFL, and how disconnected Americans are from one another in that regard. To Waka, what Colin Kaepernick and those who relate to the American flag as symbolic of oppression, are fighting for, expands beyond the notion of Black Power, he said.
"Like, that's crazy man, for you to tell somebody, like, 'Yo, stand up to this flag.' N***a do you know what this flag did to us?" Waka said, making note of the unwillingness of many to put themselves in the shoes of demonstrators. "Like, when is it gonna come the time when these players is respected? You know what I'm saying? Even, like, Kaepernick. For shorty to even kneel down, bro. That's deep. That's deep. That ain't got nothing to do with Black Power, that's deep. That's human rights," he continued on to say.
Prior to coming around to addressing the protests specifically, Waka revealed enough about his views on race to provide a glimpse into why he sees the bigger picture is more universal than many, particularly Americans, have come to believe. Black and White, Waka said, are only categorizations that people identify within the U.S. Such narrow and limited identity assignments have contributed to the divisive climate in the nation, Waka appeared to convey. As a man who claims native indigenous and European bloodlines, and has no African ancestry to his knowledge, it is the same compassion through which he yearns to help the people of Puerto Rico, that he sees the fight in the men kneeling, linking arms and raising fists across the NFL. It's in being in touch with humanity.
