Hip-Hop

As the U.S. Department of Justice initiates a review of the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a number of artists have amplified the name and memory of the 36-year-old mother of two while decrying the latest police-involved killing of a Black person by a white officer.

“The Department of Justice is aware of and assessing the circumstances surrounding the tragic officer-involved death of Ms. Sonya Massey and extends condolences to her family and loved ones,” the federal agency wrote in a statement, according to ABC News.

“First words Sonya Massey said at her front door were ‘don’t hurt me’ she was told ‘why would we hurt you, you called us,’” Solange posted to X on Tuesday. “When have those words meant anything when [you’re] black and woman in this country when do those words protect you from not being murdered in your kitchen, in your bedroom, with your babies, or on your lawn what is ‘reassurance,’ in this place ? rest in power Sonya Massey, and an abundance of love and power to Sonya’s family on this journey.”

According to reports, Massey called 911 in the early hours of July 6 to report seeing an intruder outside her home in Springfield, Illinois, and a half-hour later, the responding officers reported shots fired and that Massey had been struck by bullets. According to ABC 7, former sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, 30, was indicted on first-degree murder charges last week and is currently being jailed without bond until trial.

Per video of the incident, after checking for intruders, police went inside and Massey asked if she could walk in the other room to turn down a boiling pot on the stove. An unidentified officer who responded to the call with Grayson then moved aside and Massey is heard saying, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson, standing in the living room, then threatened to shoot Massey in the face, drawing his weapon.

Massey, in her sleeping clothes, dropped to the ground below the kitchen counter between them and put her hands up while apologizing. As she stood up with what appeared to be the upside down pot in her hand, Grayson fired three shots, including the fatal one to Massey’s head, immediately saying, “F—!,” as he realized he’d fired a fatal shot and telling his partner not to bother getting a medical kit because of the “head shot” he’d unleashed.

After bouncing around between a handful of small police departments, Grayson was hired by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in May 2023 and has since been fired in the wake of Massey’s fatal shooting and has not yet entered a plea to three charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.

Meek Mill — who has had his own yearslong battle in Pennsylvania over a prison sentence tied to parole violations tied to a decade-old drug and gun conviction — reposted a video of Massey’s devastated son describing a call from the hospital informing him that his mother was shot in the eye while refusing to tell him who had shot her. “Can you imagine the cops killing your mom on camera like that … she didn’t even have a pot in her hand she put it down … and we need to erase police reports humans lie!!!” Mill wrote Wednesday on X, adding in another post, “She didn’t even have the pot in her hand if you slow it down!”

In an X Spaces post Wednesday night, Cardi B discussed Massey, saying, “There was no argument, there was no conflict, there was no raise the voice. And she got shot. He [Grayson] didn’t say nothing racial, right? He didn’t say nothing like a racial slur, but one thing for sure is that we definitely know that he knew in the back of his head because she was a Black woman that he was going to get away with it… she got shot for no reason.” (The Massey discussion begins at the 14:29 mark.)

Canadian R&B duo Dvsn were equally horrified by the footage, writing Tuesday on X, “That Sonya Massey video really hurt to watch… that man claiming she ‘CAME at him with boiling water’ just made me think what if there was no body cam?… and how many times they’ve gotten away with these stories when it comes to us… smh. Hurts man.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running to be the Democratic nominee for president, also reacted to the startling footage. “Sonya Massey deserved to be safe,” she wrote Tuesday on X. “The disturbing footage released yesterday confirms what we know from the lived experiences of so many — we have much work to do to ensure that our justice system fully lives up to its name. President Biden and I call on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a bill that I coauthored in the Senate. We must come together to achieve meaningful reforms that advance the safety of all communities.”

In a separate post, Biden added, “Sonya Massey, a beloved mother, friend, daughter, and young Black woman, should be alive today. Sonya’s death at the hands of a police officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not.”

Rapper Yung Miami also weighed in, writing, “Let her f—ing just what?????? Die this is beyond sickening!!!! Pure evil!!!”

See some of the tweets about Massey’s killing below. (Warning: Some of the posts below include footage from Massey’s fatal shooting.)