“Did they die or us?” declares the song Ghosts of Grenfell by UK rapper Lowkey, which was dropped on the 8th August. Lowkey, a resident of the area and lives opposite Grenfell Tower, has released a track featuring vocalists Mai Khalil and Asheber. Lowkey witnessed the tragedy unfold and the song entitled Ghosts of Grenfell asks a poignant question and delivers a message to society blaming the residents of Grenfell.
The song will leave a mark on you and remind those racist and bigoted commentators, faceless people online and the far-right, including our government, that these are humans that are after answers and justice for the crimes that have been committed.
Grenfell Tower, like a phoenix they will rise
The song is a reminder that Grenfell Tower is monument to the failed policies since Thatcher’s reign as Prime Minister. Her deregulation of fire safety standards that then continued in the Blair era and beyond 2010. The inherent inequality our system is based on has contributed significantly to the disaster that befell Grenfell Tower. We live in a system that is built on greed, racism, oppression and violence, is it any wonder that the poorest in society met such a violent end? If you look throughout history, this system we hold dear was formed through from the blood of innocence.
Grenfell Tower, the symbol of the failure of successive governments who have little care for the poorest in the world.
A large proportion of the residents weren’t ‘ethnically British’ and now the rise in the far-right and the normalisation of racism and bigotry has seen responses blaming the victims for burning to death. Completely dehumanising them so that they can promote their racist rhetoric. But this is more than just a race row but a class row.
Grenfell, the symbol that austerity kills innocent people, the symbol that the wealthy elite don’t believe that the poorest have any worth in society. The blood of Grenfell is on the hands of those in power, the blood stains the very system most of society holds dear and the bloodstains will never be washed from the system we live in.
Grenfell Tower, the memory of those who have perished will live on and Lowkey underlines the societal issues by questioning who really died, them or us? The last line of second verse is perfect and powerful “They are immortalised forever; the only ghosts are us I wonder”. The society we live is underpinned in the tragedy of Grenfell Tower, it is a reminder that our leaders have little regard for the poorest in society. The Arabic verse translates to “Tell me where I can go, people are burning at the hour of sahoor. I feel as if I’m in another world, I feel as if I’m in another world.”
Grenfell Tower, the victims of social cleansing,
Grenfell Tower, the monument to our failed system,
Grenfell Tower, immortalised in our history.
Answers for the victims who see the dead in their dreams
