Down With The King: 25 Martin Luther King Jr. Rap References

Hip-hop artists from Kanye West to Big Daddy Kane celebrate Dr. King's legacy.

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Almost forty-four years after his assassination, the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is alive and well. As we celebrate a national holiday in his honor, and reflect on America's first black president, there can be no doubt of that fact.

Those who hunger for knowledge should know that the King Center Archive went live today, making over 200,000 rare King documents available online for the first time. That's a great way to learn more about the legendary Civil Rights leader—if you're into that sort of thing.

But if you ask us, the best way to judge how your average young American feels about MLK is to listen to some hip-hop. And not just because—like many great preachers—Dr. King was a dope MC who knew how to "move the crowd."

Dr. King must be one of the most name-dropped figures in rap. Plus if you listen closely, you can hear the hip-hop generation trying to follow in his footsteps, even as they struggle with certain aspects of his thinking, particularly his non-violent stance.

Some of these lyrics are thought-provoking; others may make you shake your head. But all of them prove two things beyond a shadow of a doubt: MLK continues to inspire, and after all these years, hip-hop is still down with the King. 

Written by Lucas Wisenthal (@LucasWisenthal)

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25. 50 Cent "Smile (I'm Leavin')" (2007)

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Album: Curtis
Producer: No I.D.
Label: Shady/Aftermath
Lyric: “I'm like Martin Luther King: people listen to me a lot/It's non-violent, non-violent 'til I'm hit with a rock/Then it's Coretta, fuck this; go and get me my Glock.”

Yes, people listen to 50 Cent a lot—and they listened to him a lot more in 2003, when he dropped Get Rich Or Die Tryin' and moved 11 million units. But 50 definitely wasn't listening to MLK when he promised his detractors swift revenge—via gunshots—and name-dropped Coretta Scott King in the process. (Did Coretta really pack a Glock?)

24. Snoop Dogg f/ The Game "Gangbangin' 101" (2006)

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Album: Tha Blue Carpet Treatment
Producer: Terrace Martin
Label: Geffen
Lyric: "I'm Dr. Martin Luther King with two guns on/Huey P. Newton with Air Force 1s on." (Game)

No stranger to name-dropping, The Game laces this line with references to two revolutionary figures, Martin Luther King Jr. and Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party. Although MLK denounced violence, when The Game casts himself in his image, he's armed and ready to ride on his rivals rather than turn the other cheek.

23. Lil Wayne "Playing With Fire" (2008)

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Album: Tha Carter III
Producer: StreetRunner
Label: Cash Money
Lyric: "So assassinate me, bitch!/'Cause I'm doing the same shit Martin Luther King did/Checking in the same hotel, in the same suite, bitch/Same balcony, like, assassinate me, bitch!"

In a moment of catharsis, Weezy likens himself to MLK, who was shot dead on April 4, 1968 while standing on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. In a nod to Biggie, Wayne's verse recycles one of hip-hop's most enduring aphorisms: You're nobody until somebody kills you.

22. Young Dro "Gangsta Shit" (2006)

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Album: Best Thang Smokin'
Producer: Lil' C
Label: Grand Hustle/Atlantic
Lyric: "White people like me/I'm on MTV with Green Day/Green ice, green K/Packers like the Green Bay/King, nigga—put my birthday on Martin Luther King Day."

Things you may not know about Young Dro, the man who made your shoulder lean in 2006: White people like him so much that you could catch him performing with Green Day—a perennial Caucasoid favorite. Nevertheless he's considered something of a king in the South—sorta like his mentor, T.I. So why shouldn't he celebrate his birthday on MLK Day? (And in fact, D'Juan Hart was born January 15, 1979.) Many happy returns, Young Dro!

21. Rick Ross f/ Kanye West, T-Pain and Lil Wayne "Maybach Music 2" (2009)

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Album: Deeper Than Rap
Producer: J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League
Label: Maybach/Slip-n-Slide/Def Jam
Lyric: "Martin Louie the King Jr./starting all that stunting is gon' ruin you." (Kanye West)

When Kanye West was just 12 years old, he wrote a poem paying tribute to Dr. King. Nineteen years later, Yeezy married his Louis Vuitton Don persona with that of MLK, bringing together two sides of an extreme persona. How's that for a stunt?

20. Method Man f/ Ol' Dirty Bastard "Dirty Mef" (2006)

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Album: 4:21... The Day After
Producer: Mathematics, Erick Sermon
Label: Def Jam/Universal
Lyric: "Ya'mean, I'm taking one for the team/Like Martin Luther King, taking one for a dream." (Method Man)

How serious is Method Man about reppin' his Wu-Tang team? Serious enough to take a bullet, apparently.

19. Nas "Getting Married" (2004)

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Album: Street's Disciple
Producer: Chucky Thompson
Label: Ill Will/Columbia
Lyric: "It was my dream for my queen to put the ring on and ride/Even Martin Luther King had a fling on the side/That's what the negative ones say."

In this 2004 ode to his now-ex-wife Kelis, Nas refers to the "negative ones" who fixate on the more sordid aspects of MLK's life: his alleged marital infidelities. But Nas knows that King's legacy is what's most important.

18. Young Buck "War Witcha Homeboy" (2006)

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Album: Case Dismissed!
Producer: DJ Drama
Label: N/A
Lyric: "Started with a dream like Martin Luther King/'Til the Feds came sayin' my whole fuckin' team/Had to switch my game up."

The former G-Unit soldier invokes Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream—of an America that rises beyond the racism that has tainted its history—to describe the rise and fall of a drug-dealing enterprise. He then tears into his former friend D-Tay, whom he would subsequently go after “with guns and shit, asking the lord, 'How did it come to this?'”

17. Ying Yang Twins "Ghetto Classics" (2005)

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Album: U.S.A. (United State of Atlanta)
Producer: Mr. Collipark
Label: TVT
Lyric: "Martin Luther King had a dream that one day we'd walk together/We really need to get it together."

The Dirty South rap duo—best known for a song about whispering crude fantasies into women's ears—aspire to a loftier dream on this track.

16. Tragedy Khadafi f/ V-12 "9.11" (2006)

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Album: Thug Matrix 2
Producer: Tragedy Khadafi
Label: 25 To Life
Lyric: "Shots riddled Malcolm X and destroyed his life/Even Martin Luther King got hit with the flame/And you wonder why the black man stuck in the game."

Though no longer the Intelligent Hoodlum of the early '90s—you know, the teen who called for the president to be arrested—Tragedy's conscious streak was still strong nearly two decades later. Just another king from Queens.

15. Rev Run "Don't Stop Y'all" (2005)

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Album: Distortion
Producer: Whiteboy
Label: Def Jam/Universal
Lyric: "Just like Martin Luther, the King who might teach/Rock a collar to the party, after party go and preach."

After more than two decades in the game, Rev Run hasn't strayed from the sound—and the sensibility—for which he's known. He's still partying, still preaching, and still "Down with the King"—Martin Luther King, that is.

14. Black Milk f/ Royce Da 5'9" & Elzhi "Deadly Medley" (2010)

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Album: Album Of The Year
Producer: Black Milk
Label: Fat Beats
Lyric: "They laugh at your performance/My shit is Martin Luther/Your shit is Martin Lawrence."

The Detroit producer / MC draws a sharp distinction between the star of the '90s TV sitcom and the Civil Rights legend. Or was he referring to the 16th century German priest?

13. King Sun "Be Black" (1990)

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Album: Righteous But Ruthless
Producer: King Shameek
Label: Profile
Lyric: "Martin Luther King did a lot for us/But today it's cool to play the back of the bus."

King Sun, a Five Percenter, takes aim at people who preach Afrocentricity without real knowledge. You might fool the others, but you can't fool Sun, son.

12. The Roots f/ John Legend "Doin' It Again" (2010)

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Album: How I Got Over
Producer: Richard Nichols, Black Thought, Questlove, Dice Raw, Rick Friedrich
Label: Def Jam/Universal
Lyric: "Doin' it again just like Poitier and Cosby/I'm like Martin Luther King; you like Rodney/The difference is I give it everything inside me."

With a name like Black Thought you know you're dealing with a serious MC. So who better to liken himself to than a serious orator like MLK?

11. Big Daddy Kane "Word To The Mother (Land)" (1988)

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Album: Long Live The Kane
Producer: Marley Marl
Label: Cold Chillin'/Warner Bros.
Lyric: “Martin Luther was a tutor; many were pupils/Those who fell victim were those without scruples.”

Over a timeless Marley Marl beat, Big Daddy Kane drops facts that remain relevant nearly 25 years later. Take heed to the words he manifests all ye unscrupulous pupils.

10. Common f/ Will.I.Am "A Dream" (2006)

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Album: Freedom Writers OST
Producer: Will.I.Am
Label: Hollywood
Lyric: “It's a cold war; I'm a colder soldier/Hold the same fight that made Martin Luther the King/I ain't using it for the right thing/In between lean and the fiends, hustling and schemes/I put together pieces of a dream/I still have one.”

Will.I.Am was hardly the first producer to sample MLK's “I Have A Dream” speech, but it's seldom been used to greater effect as Common tries to reconcile street life with King's words.

9. Chubb Rock f/ Grand Puba & Red Hot Lover Tone "3 Men At Chung King" (1992)

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Album: I Gotta Get Mine Yo!
Producer: Chubb Rock, Trackmasters
Label: Select
Lyric: "I want a Martin Luther riff 'cause I don't like to pack my iron/Watchin' kids on the corner buyin', gettin' zooted, then lyin'."

Alongside Grand Puba and Red Hot Lover Tone, Chubb Rock laments the mess he sees on his block. But while others pack the Tec for protection, Chubb prefers to stay strapped with MLK's intellect.

8. Big K.R.I.T. "2000 And Beyond" (2010)

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Album: K.R.I.T. Wuz Here
Producer: Big K.R.I.T.
Label: N/A
Lyric: “Martin Luther King had a dream; we was right there/I wonder what he saw when he up and had nightmares?/Quite scared, all the work he had done/Couldn't stop what we've become in 2000 and beyond.”

Big K.R.I.T.—whose rap moniker stands for King Remembered In Time—ponders what MLK would make of humanity's present day predicaments.

7. Ludacris f/ Beanie Sigel, C-Murder & Pimp C "Do Your Time" (2006)

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Album: Release Therapy
Producer: The Trak Starz
Label: DTP/Def Jam
Lyric: “Give my eyes to Stevie Wonder just to see what he's seen/But then I'd take 'em right back to see Martin Luther's dream/I dream that I could tell Martin Luther we made it/But half of my black brothers are still incarcerated.”

In this musical salute to those on lockdown, Ludacris offers another harsh reminder that King's dream is far from a reality.

6. Lupe Fiasco "B.M.F. (Building Minds Faster)" (2010)

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Album: N/A
Producer: Lex Luger
Label: N/A
Lyric: “I think I'm Malcolm X, Martin Luther/Add a King, add a Junior/Some Bible verses, couple Sunnahs/an AK-47—that's a revolution.”

Replacing Big Meech and Larry Hoover with Malcolm X and MLK, Lupe turns Ricky Rozays street anthem into a call for revolution.

5. M-1 f/ K'naan "'Til We Get There" (2006)

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Album: Confidential
Producer: Fabrizio Sotti
Label: Koch
Lyric: "I took a page from the book of Martin Luther/And decided that it's better to hug you than shoot you/I'm sorry, homie, if it's not what you're used to."

While some rappers' lyrics run counter to MLK's message of non-violence, M-1 boasts of embracing his own enemies.

4. Kendrick Lamar "HiiiPoWeR" (2011)

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Album: Section.80
Producer: J. Cole
Label: Top Dawg Entertainment
Lyric: “Visions of Martin Luther staring at me/Malcolm X put a hex on my future; someone catch me/I'm falling victim to a revolutionary song.”

The highly touted West Coast MC places himself in the pantheon of revolutionary leaders. His future's set and he's not about to sugar coat it.

3. Ice Cube "Steady Mobbin" (1991)

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Album: Death Certificate
Producer: Boogiemen, Ice Cube
Label: Priority Records
Lyric: "Police, eat a dick straight up!" "Look here you little goddamn nigger, your not gafflin nobody. You fuckin understand me? That's right, get down on the goddamn ground now. Fuckin' move now." (Let me take a shot at him!) "We're gonna do you like King." "What goddamn King?" "Rodney King, Martin Luther King, and all the other god damn King's from Africa." "Look out motherfucker!"

This racist police skit comes at the end of "My Summer Vacation," setting the stage for "Steady Mobbin." A censored version (with no gunshots fired at cops) opens the "Steady Mobbin" video. Although Cube doesn't shout out MLK himself on the track, his message could not be clearer. The track appeared on his second solo album, which was released on November 6, 1991—right between Rodney King's beating by LAPD officers on March 3, 1991 and April 29, 1992, when the jury's not guilty verdict set off the L.A. Riots. So much for nonviolence.

2. Jay-Z "My President Is Black (Remix)" (2009)

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Album: N/A
Producer: Tha Business
Label: N/A
Lyric: "Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther could walk/Martin Luther walked so Barack Obama could run."

Jigga places Barack Obama's 2008 election in proper context, reminding his listeners that America could never even dream of a black president if Rosa Parks and MLK didn't pave the way.

1. Public Enemy "By The Time I Get To Arizona" (1991)

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Album: Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black
Producer: The Bomb Squad
Label: Def Jam/Elektra
Lyric: “Talkin' MLK/Gonna find a way/Make the state pay/I'm lookin' for the day/Hard as it seems/This ain't no damn dream.”

When Arizona became the only state to abolish the observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—approved by congress in 1983—Stevie Wonder joined Coretta Scott King in calling for entertainers and others to boycott the state. Public Enemy went even further, devoting a whole song to Arizona's backward state of mind—and one of the most controversial videos ever. One year later, after the NFL moved Super Bowl XXVII from Tempe, AZ to Pasadena, CA —thereby, as Chuck D said, making the state pay—Arizonans finally voted to observe MLK Day. Behold the power of hip-hop.

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