Brow Beat

Tink’s “Tell the Children” Is a Haunting Song About Police Brutality

Last night’s announcement that Ferguson, Missouri officer Darren Wilson will not be indicted for killing Michael Brown prompted a number of black musicians to reflect on the state of racial inequality in America. This morning Timbaland protégé and rapper Tink added her voice to the fray, finding resonance between what’s happening in Missouri and the tensions in her native Chicago.

Premiered on the Breakfast Club, “Tell The Children” opens with a haunting cry of “Don’t shoot!” and riffs on Lauryn Hill’s seminal “Doo Wop (That Thing)” over a swirling, dramatic beat. Hill’s warning to “watch out” becomes a chilling imperative in Tink’s song. “He was more afraid of him,” Tink sings, “when he the one with the piece?” Listen below.