Stephen Jackson slams Lil Yachty over George Floyd line in new song; controversy explained

Lil Yachty faces backlash for leaked song lyric referencing George Floyd’s death, prompting outrage from Floyd’s ‘brother’, ex-NBA player Stephen Jackson.

Rapper Lil Yachty has landed in a controversy after debuting a new, unreleased song on a livestream with PlaqueBoyMax on Thursday. The song has come under fire over a line that references George Floyd, sparking a reaction from Floyd's friend and former NBA player, Stephen Jackson.

Stephen Jackson (R) and Lil Yachty (L). (Jackson and Lil Yachty's social media)

The video of the song has gone viral on social media, especially the portion on George Floyd, the Minnesota police brutality victim whose death sparked nationwide BLM protests in 2020. The lyrics seemed to reference Floyd's death is a sexualized way, sparking massive backlash.

The line goes: "Put my knee up on her neck, I went George Floyd." It refers how police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into George Floyd's neck for over nine minutes leading to his death.

Here's the video:

Jackson, who grew up with George Floyd in Houston, Texas, reacted to the video and slammed the rapper for the allegedly insensitive portrayal of Floyd's death.

"Lil Yachty, bro. You been wack, my n***a," Jackson said.

"But you think you saying George Floyd name, and trying to use his name in a bar, that's gonna make people like your wack-ass music, my n***a? That shit weak. Y'all the only era that feel like demeaning the dead and saying that shit is cool, my n***a. It ain't.

"Don't ever say his name, bro," he continued. None of ya'll knew G, nothing about him. But y'all wanna say his name for clout. That's some weak-ass shit, Yachty. Let somebody die in your family, we gonna do a whole skit about it. And see how funny it is, bro. Cut that shit out."

Is Stephen Jackson related to George Floyd?

Stephen Jackson was a close friend of George Floyd — they often referred to each other as “twin” because of their strong resemblance and brother-like bond. They met years earlier in Texas as they grew up in Houston's Third Ward.