Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill released a stunning visual for his latest single "Trauma" off of his new Championships album, capturing the rough and often deadly life living in poverty.
After a long fight with the justice system, Meek Mill has become an outspoken advocate for criminal justice and prison reform. And his new path in life has carried over into his music. In "Trauma," the cold bleakness of being Black and poor in America is depicted in the video.
Images of a young boy at home cooking Top Ramen on a stovetop, men gambling to make ends meet and desperation play in succession as the rapper details his past.
“I just won/ I was on a corner with the reefa/ And they got us warring for our freedom,” he raps. “See my brother blood on the pavement/ How you wake up in the morning feeling evil?/Uh, trauma/ When them drugs got a hold of your momma/ And the judge got a hold on your father/ Go to school, bullet holes in your locker.”
Meek Mil traverses the fabric of his mind to bring the listener in and make those who don't get it understand.
He, unfortunately, had to make these decisions. Growing up in Philly was tough. He's revealed that he lost friends and was exposed to violence, leaving mental scars that may never heal. Young Black men and women receive unfair criminal sentences because of minor, often nonviolent, offenses.
With the recent passage of the Senate's prison reform bill, the First Step Act, there is renewed hope. Meek celebrated this latest development as a win over on Instagram. "This major," he wrote. "A lot of over sentenced men and women will come home soon!!"
Watch the Will Ngo-directed music video below:
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