Friday, March 29, 2024

Rodney King’s Daughter Pens Letter Thanking Eminem for ‘Revival’ Track ‘Untouchable’

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One of Rodney King's daughters, Laura Dene King, speaks to reporters before the public memorial service for her father at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 30, 2012.  (AP Photo/Grant Hindsley)
One of Rodney King’s daughters, Laura Dene King, speaks to reporters before the public memorial service for her father at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Grant Hindsley)

*On his new album “Revival,” Eminem takes aim at white privilege and police brutality against black people on the track “Untouchable,” which has caught the attention of Rodney King’s daughter.

The rock-flavored song (which samples Cheech and Chong’s 1974 song “Earache My Eye”) references the infamous beating of King in 1991. The African American taxi driver was hit repeatedly with billy clubs while laying on the ground, following a high-speed chase with members of the LAPD. King’s brutal beating sparked outrage in the African American community, and later, triggered deadly acts of rebellion and arson across Los Angeles once the officers involved were acquitted of all charges.

‘We done seen ’em beat Rodney King unconscious, and got off/ So we don’t need all you crooked police officers’ peace offerings,” raps Em on “Untouchable.”

Moved by Eminem’s stance and the mention of her father in the song, King’s middle daughter, Lora Dene King, wrote an open letter of gratitude to the rapper.

“I decided to write this letter to Eminem because it takes heart to speak about this subject that so many people overlook,” King tells Billboard. King — the founder of the Rodney King Foundation for Social Justice and Human Rights — says the record instilled a sense of hope for her after witnessing the pain of her father suffered back in 1991.

“I wrote it because his song gives people like myself hope. It’s not just this song that inspires me [but] his music period! He speaks for the hurt that people sometimes suppress in order to deal with society. The details in this song let me know just how much he cares. I wanted him to know that I appreciate him writing it.”

Read King’s letter to Eminem below.

Dear Eminem,

I am the middle daughter of the late great Rodney Glen King. I am also the founder of the Rodney King Foundation for Social Justice and Human Rights. I first would like to thank you for always speaking on subjects that are not so attractive to America but need to be heard. Thank you for always speaking for the unheard, with the position and the race you possess. Please keep going against the grain to wake people up and hopefully spark a change.

Thank you for speaking about the elephant in the room: “injustice in America,” from a white man’s perceptive with a human heart!! Thank you for speaking the truth about America not liking the site of a black boy. Period. No matter the time!! It’s always the wrong time and then time is up!!! So glad you mentioned [how] the bad cops always mess it up for the good cops. There are too many good cops that get overshadowed by the dark cloud of bad ones. Thank you for speaking on segregation.

Years ago, blacks were only allowed to live in the project units and never allowed to relocate. You got some hellllva lines in the song !! Thank you for speaking on sec 8. That always comes to mind and also for speaking on the true reason it was created: to break up black family’s because the male… wasn’t allowed to live in the home. If they found out, the women was kicked out. What a catch 22! This whole entire song gives me chills, so deep in my soul. Life for blacks does feel like a razor wire fence.

I can personally say I have had really bad anxiety since the age of 7, from the time my father was beaten. Whenever police are around me,

I have to keep calm. I hate that feeling. It feels as if my chest is caving in. THANK YOU for speaking on my father. You touched on them beating my father till he was unconscious. That’s sick every time I think of it. He could have died if it wasn’t for his size. Thank you for speaking up for all the people with a voice that get put on mute, from speaking for change. Keep inspiring E and again thank you.

Listen to “Untouchable” below:

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