Chicago emcees Mikkey Halsted and Lupe Fiasco joined forces to release a thought-provoking single aimed at awakening the public consciousness and shining light on a timely issue of violence, specifically gun violence, and its sweeping deadly effects nationwide. In light of the recent tragic shooting death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, Halsted and Fiasco seek to draw attention to an equally tragic surge in gun violence in their hometown which has claimed several lives in the past few weeks . Regarding the senseless violence discussed on "Gone," Halsted had this to say:
In light of “37 SHOOTINGS, 46 VICTIMS & 9 MURDERS” during Chicago’s first ‘warm’ weekend, the Trayvon travesty, 6-year old Aliyah Shell, and in honor of my cousins Ismail & Malik that were gunned down last summer…I felt as though this was the time to drop this song. Shouts to Lupe for helping me paint a vivid picture of what goes on everyday in Chicago and every other ghetto in America. Also, shouts to David ‘D.A.’ Doman & Jim LaVigne for providing us the perfect canvas to paint upon.
Special Dedication to Blair Holt and the hundreds of CPS [Chicago Public School] students lost to senseless violence.
WE CAN NO LONGER WAIT FOR OTHERS, SEEMINGLY UNAFFECTED BY OUR ISSUES, TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS FOR US. SPEAK OUT AND SAY SOMETHING, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, DO SOMETHING.
Listen to the song below which is available for download.
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