Houston was George Floyd's hometown, but Cissy Floyd was his home. During his last breaths, he called out in the hope of seeing his mother appear as an angel and usher him into his eternal home, free from the bondages of oppression and state-sponsored violence, the only place where a Black mother doesn't have to worry about her son making it home.
"This for the nappy heads in heaven / With a nappy head Christ by they side," Tobe Nwigwe raps, as he transitions from the chorus of "Make It Home" into a verse that contextualizes Floyd's ascension into heaven with "gold paved streets." He ends it with a prayer about their shared hometown of Houston.
On Earth, Floyd was anointed as an affiliate of DJ Screw's iconic Screwed Up Click; he rapped about his prayers of buying his mother a mansion on " So Tired Of Ballin," an offering to the God who made him. "I pray you catch a wave / That doesn't subside" is a benevolent prayer said in passing toward a fallen brother whose final breath — not resurrection — inspired millions of people across the world to chant his words, in remembrance of him and the life he lived. Nwigwe's classification of George Floyd as "golden," as a symbolic reminder of royalty, not only describes his legacy in Houston, but the significance of his life on Earth.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDA5MTc0MDI0MDEzMzE4MjI4ODdlOTk4MA004))
