Killer Mike and 2 Chainz have spoken out against a proposed nuisance ordinance that numerous Atlanta residents and business owners feel would negatively impact establishments owned and operated by people of color, Billboard reports.
A city council meeting was held on Monday (August 1), and attendees criticized the ordinance, which would allow the city of Atlanta to close any establishment that is deemed a “nuisance” or has two or more reports of “violent crime or conduct” within a 2-year period. 2 Chainz—who owns two businesses in the city, Escobar and Escobar Seafood—addressed city officials, pointing to the economic impact the ordinance would have on Atlanta residents if enacted.
“I’m very blessed, and I also like to be a blessing to others, and that’s what my businesses have allowed me to do,” 2 Chainz said in a video of the meeting. “They need to retract some of the things they have on the ordinance. And I think crime is up everywhere, not just in Atlanta.”
After being introduced by 2 Chainz, Killer Mike noted that the proposed bill would favor corporations while being biased against small businesses and longtime residents of Atlanta and its surrounding areas. “It’s gonna be the owners of Hard Rock [Cafe] or the owners of Hooters or the owners of a W Hotel, or it’s gonna be the little people that went to Frederick Douglas [high school]… and Southwest DeKalb, and schools like that,” the Run The Jewels rapper warned. “Are we going to keep Atlanta a place where local people can grow and thrive here?”
The father of incarcerated rap star Young Thug also appeared at the City Council meeting and questioned the merit of the bill, asking, “If a crime happens by city hall, was it city hall that caused it?
City officials have delayed a vote on the ordinance for two weeks to further review the proposed bill.