Today (January 18) is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and as a result, the civil rights leader has been trending on Twitter all day. As part of that, folks in the music world have taken time to honor the late hero.
Lil Wayne, for example, wrote, “Because he had a dream I am able to live out my dreams. I am forever mindful. Forever grateful. Because he had a dream I’ll never stop dreaming and dreams are forever. King. Forever.” Ice T also tweeted, “Martin Luther King Jr. stood for equality, unity and EVERYTHING we are STILL trying to achieve in America… And they killed him. Let that sink in today..”
Because he had a dream I am able to live out my dreams. I am forever mindful. Forever grateful. Because he had a dream I’ll never stop dreaming and dreams are forever. King. Forever.
— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) January 18, 2021
Martin Luther King Jr. stood for equality, unity and EVERYTHING we are STILL trying to achieve in America… And they killed him. Let that sink in today.. pic.twitter.com/Lw0XMC96kZ
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) January 18, 2021
The Recording Academy noted that Dr. King is actually a Grammy Award winner, as he posthumously took home Best Spoken Word Recording trophy in 1971 for “Why I Oppose The War In Vietnam.”
Did you know that #MLK won a GRAMMY?
The civil rights leader posthumously won for Best Spoken Word Recording in 1971 for “Why I Oppose The War In Vietnam”
#GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/SH3oJm2rZq
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) January 18, 2021
Freddie Gibbs also came through with a photo of King sticking up the middle finger and captioned it simply, “Mood.”
Mood pic.twitter.com/HgndrbI7Bp
— Skinny Suge (@FreddieGibbs) January 18, 2021
Although not music-related, also noteworthy is a tweet from King’s son, Martin Luther King III. He shared a photo of himself with his father and wrote, “My father’s dream is not just a speech he gave or an idyllic view of what could be. My father’s dream is something we must all choose each and every day to work towards. Together, we are all my father’s legacy.”
My father’s dream is not just a speech he gave or an idyllic view of what could be. My father’s dream is something we must all choose each and every day to work towards. Together, we are all my father’s legacy. #MLKDay pic.twitter.com/M0TwVIwfLH
— Martin Luther King III (@OfficialMLK3) January 18, 2021
Check out some more tweets about King from musicians below.
“Non violence can be as contagious as violence” – Martin Luther King
— Killer Mike (@KillerMike) January 18, 2021
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” #MLKDay
— Timbaland (@Timbaland) January 18, 2021
“When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through their instrument.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr— jon batiste (@JonBatiste) January 18, 2021
“Peace is not simply the absence of conflict, but the existence of justice for all people.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Wishing a Happy Birthday to Civil Rights Leader Dr. King. pic.twitter.com/nKINgpejOZ
— COMMON (@common) January 15, 2021
“You ain’t never met dr Martin Luther the King”
— Wale (@Wale) January 18, 2021
Blessings to the King MLK THE GREAT
https://t.co/hBZkZahCGf
— SWIZZ BEATZ (@THEREALSWIZZZ) January 18, 2021
Ruby Bridges, now 66, was the first student to desegregate New Orleans public schools. Dr. King’s fight for racial justice was not that long ago. Eyes on the prize. Let’s keep supporting, let’s keep uplifting, let’s keep fighting for what’s right pic.twitter.com/esJpcfID3n
— MAJOR LAZER (@MAJORLAZER) January 18, 2021
Happy KING Day !
Salute the A town legend… pic.twitter.com/O0UZKzIO23— DR. MADE-IT (@MikeWiLLMadeIt) January 18, 2021
In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King and the Beloved Community…
pic.twitter.com/dWmPZCRZr8
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) January 18, 2021
Today, as we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. with a day of service, listen again to this song by @RhiannonGiddens. Today is always a good day to learn. Full song: https://t.co/3hEUy7UcfG pic.twitter.com/DF3XCAQvHV
— Yo-Yo Ma (@YoYo_Ma) January 18, 2021
In honor of #MLKDay, I join @breatherev and @bma_coalition in the call for @joebiden & @kamalaharris to commit to a Truth Racial Healing and Transformation Commission in their first 100 days. Join the movement #breathewithme #BMAC #17moreways #USTRHT https://t.co/Ndb78r5HKK https://t.co/j8L4DZPi29
— T.I. (@Tip) January 18, 2021
Today, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a throwback to Mrs. Ames’ Hunter Elementary classes from 1988 – 2001 performing her song “Martin Luther King”. #MLKDay pic.twitter.com/V4EzhJ8gEq
— Hamilton (@HamiltonMusical) January 18, 2021
The Dream is still alive…
honoring the King today #MLKDay
— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) January 18, 2021