In the wake of NFL star Colin Kaepernick's decision to remain seated during "The Star Spangled Banner" to protest racial injustice, there is renewed interest in the United States' national anthem. Now, a hip-hop fan named Dero Anthony has come up with his or her own way of changing the conversation around our country's official song. Anthony has started a petition to drop the two-century-old Francis Scott Key number and replace it with the Diplomats' classic "Dipset Anthem."
"The current National Anthem is BS," reads Anthony's plea. And...that's it. No further explanation is given, nor is it required.
The petition has 974 signatures as of this writing, out of its stated goal of 10,000,000. You can add your name by going here.
"The Star Spangled Banner" has been receiving renewed scrutiny since Kaepernick's decision. A recent popular article in The Intercept claims that the song's rarely-sung third verse "celebrates the murder of African-Americans" who fought on the side of the British in the War of 1812. Historians are divided on this interpretation.
No matter what Francis Scott Key may have meant, hip-hop fans are strongly behind the idea of bringing a little Harlem to the beginning of football games.
You can listen to our soon-to-be new anthem below.
