During the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards, rapper T.I. pays tribute to the revolutionary Black Panther Party in a politically charged performance on Oct. 4.
The rapper performed his hit single “We Will Not” from his Us or Else album while dressed in a black outfit, beret and combat boots reminiscent of the Black Panthers from the 1960s. In the clip, T.I. stands in front of images depicting Black resistance, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others as a crowd of protesters surround him.
As the bombastic beat blasts and his words calling for change echoes, the crowd holds signs reading “Fight the power,” “We will not,” and “Us or else.” By the end of his performance, T.I. delivers a powerful message calling for Black unity.
“United we stand — look around and see the power around you. We gotta stand together. It’s us or else. It’s do or die. The time is now. They can’t kill us all.”
