Two days ago Jussie Smollett, a Columbia Records artist1, released a new single titled, ‘Thank You, God…’ benefiting Rainbow PUSH, Illinois Innocence Project, and Secure The Bag Safety. Jussie’s choice of charities to benefit from the sales of his latest single is almost as revealing as his choice of lyrics:

Jessie Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH focuses on improving life opportunities for people who have been marginalized and disaffected like Jussie. Despite earning six figures a year by the time he was ten the Mighty Ducks star was keeping a dark secret from his costars, friends, and family - he was gay. Rainbow PUSH seeks to help people like Jussie be their true authentic selves.2

The Illinois Innocence Project works to free men and women, like Jussie, who have been wrongfully convicted. The Innocence Project has exonerated 2,840 people who were wrongfully incarcerated for more than 25,000 years. The Illinois chapter is working overtime to ensure Jussie doesn’t spend another day in jail.3

Secure The Bag Safety provides safety kits and self-defense training to the BIPOC TGNCNB community. Since his attack, Jussie worked with the group to improve his own self-defense skills to protect himself from another racist attack.4

Jussie doesn’t pull any punches in his new song pointing out that the Chicago Police made a rush to judgment by only investigating him and not looking for the real perpetrators in lines like, “Hell-bent on not solving the crime, you think I’m stupid enough to kill my reputation just to look like a victim.”

Video

Thank You, God… by Jussie Smollett (YouTube)

Thank You, God... By Jussie Smollett (Instagram)

Lyrics

It’s like they’re hell-bent on not solving the crime
Taking out the elements of race and trans and homophobia that’s straight taking lives
But turn around and act like I’m the one that killed the strides
But I can’t be mad
Take my ego out
Some people searching for fame
Some people chasing that clout
Just remember this
This ain’t that situation
You think I’m stupid enough to kill my reputation?
Just simply to look like a victim like it’s something fun
Y’all better look at someone else, you got the wrong one
Wait, let me rephrase that
Cause the narrative they played
I really “over-stand” the reason why y’all felt betrayed
They had my own people
Thoughts going off the wall
That’s why from L.D. to Don I still got love for y’all
I know we’ll meet again
Talk like real men
Instead of sharing shade in rooms and up on CNN
Thunder’s mad loud
Still I’m pushing through the clouds
All I ever wanted to do was make my people proud
Fame is nothing real, it’s how you make them feel
Celebrity is for the birds, I ain’t no man of steel