ATLANTA — An Atlanta rapper is putting his foot down about the explosion of gun violence in Atlanta.
21 Savage, whose real name is Sheyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, tweeted Monday, begging people to put the guns down.
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The tweet has since been retweeted more than 2,000 times and liked more than 16,000 times.
Atlanta We Have To Do Better
— Saint Laurent Don (@21savage) August 8, 2022
Put The F****** Guns Down !!!!!
The rapper’s plea comes hours after Channel 2 Action News reported several shootings and gun related incidents.
One shooting left a 4-year-old dead in a car on I-85.
Another shooting happened at a baseball game at a park after an argument broke out. That shooting left one man dead, a 6-year-old in critical condition, and four other people hurt.
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21 Savage is known for advocating against gun violence, though somewhat controversially.
In 2018, the rapper started a movement called “Guns Down, Paintballs Up,” which suggested people use paintball guns instead of firearms. The movement backfired to some extent after several incidents involving paintball guns lead to injuries, property crimes and at least one fatal shooting.
Some Twitter users called out the rapper for referencing guns in his music.
“A song is for entertainment. It’s not an instruction manual on how to live life,” the rapper tweeted back. “In real life, I give away a lot of money and spread financial literacy to my community. Stop trying to make me one dimensional.”
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