Inspired by the uprising of people around the nation demanding justice for George Floyd, Puerto Rican artist Rafa Pabón released a poignant protest anthem titled “Sin Aire (Without Air).”
In the wake of national outrage over the killing of Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, Pabón calls out police brutality and racial discrimination.
“While there is no justice, the law will never have weight,” he raps. “The real pandemic is racial discrimination. If I have my freedom, why do you want to take away my air? Justice for George Floyd and Derek Chauvin is a murderer.”
“It’s very important that we mobilize,” Pabón tells Billboard. “We can’t normalize these types of things. Racism is inhumane and I will never understand it. Doing what I do best is how I can contribute to what is happening and that’s why I released ‘Sin Aire.’ We still have a lot to do and [Floyd’s] case is just one case out of many so let’s not stop fighting for justice.”
It’s not the first time Pabón channels his frustration on social injustices through song. The urbano singer-songwriter’s ‘Sin Aire’ follows his protest song “Mano Arriba” inspired by the protests in Puerto Rico last year demanding former Gov. Rosselló to be removed from office.
“As artists, we should allow ourselves to feel in times like these,” Pabón says. “We need to grow as humans and not allow racism, discrimination or police brutality in this day and age.”
Below, watch Pabón’s powerful video “Sin Aire” which includes hard-to-watch footage of police brutality cases like those of George Floyd and Eric Garner.
