walking in the snow

El-P kicks off this snow-themed protest song with a reference to the underground Brooklyn rap group Company Flow, which he co-founded with Mr. Len in 1992. Get a dose of dirty code to go, been cold since Co-Flow EL-P has been cold-hearted ever since those early days. This is out of necessity so he can keep communicating his countercultural message without fear of the consequences. I don't really know how to go slow Just got done walkin' in the snow

EL-P and Killer Mike take on what they view as the state's oppression of their citizens throughout the rest of the song. During Killer Mike's verse, he attacks police brutality and the continuous media bombardment of these stories. He highlights African-American Eric Garner's last words before dying in New York in July 2014 after a white police officer put him in a chokehold. And you so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me And 'til my voice goes from a shriek to whisper, "I can't breathe" And you sit there in the house on couch and watch it on TV The most you give's a Twitter rant and call it a tragedy Killer Mike claims that by concentrating on such tragic events, the viewer is desensitized against the actual issue: discrimination against the African American community.

"I can't breathe" became a rallying cry during demonstrations in the days after Garner's death. Several artists have referenced the phrase in protest songs, including the Russian punk group Pussy Riot.