Blood Orange's Dev Hynes Speaks Out Against Police Brutality, Discusses Lollapalooza Security Guard Assault Injuries

[DudeAsInCool]

Photo from Central Park via Dev Hynes' Instagram

At Lollapalooza earlier this month, Dev Hynes, aka Blood Orange, was assaulted by security guards after his set. During the performance itself, he gave a speech on racism and police brutality and wore a T-shirt broadcasting the names of victims, including Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner. Lollapalooza took place before the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

This past weekend, at a Blood Orange show in Central Park, Hynes again used his platform to discuss the issues at hand. Watch a video produced by Okayplayer below.

Hynes performed in crutches and a knee-brace due to injuries sustained in the Lollapalooza assault. Hynes drew attention to his torn patella and referenced the media's use of the word "alleged" in describing his attack: "It's starting to fucking hurt because I just want to dance," he said.

Hynes continued, "I hate fucking abusive power. And I hate this fucking police state that we're all starting to live in. I don't mean New York and I don't mean America, I mean the fucking world right now."

In the interview with Okayplayer, Hynes criticized the media's coverage of Ferguson, describing a friend's experience there, and expressed shock that more progress has not been made since the civil rights movement:

You don't want it to be real, but it is. And I don't know what's happening or what's going to happen. To me, it feels like I've been getting poked all my life. This irritating jab that keeps... and people are just getting tired. It feels like you associate time with learning. I think in our culture it's a real shock that that doesn't add up in everything. Just because the Civil Rights Act was like 50 years ago, doesn't mean that we're 50 times past it.

As pictured above, Hynes' collaborator Samantha Urbani wore a dress on stage at Central Park that read "Film Police 4 Justice + Peace." 

[url=http://pitchfork.com/news/56400-blood-oranges-dev-hynes-speaks-about-police-brutality-and-ferguson-at-central-park-concert-video/]View the full article[/url]