{"id":151622,"date":"2026-02-11T14:33:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/151622\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T14:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:33:08","slug":"black-miami-musicians-reflect-on-ice-and-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/151622\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Miami Musicians Reflect on ICE and Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWhen Miami rapper and musician Bushy B first attended a predominantly non-Black high school in his sophomore year, he wasn\u2019t prepared for the attention of the entire class to shift to him during a US history lesson on slavery.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Photo by Aaron Jackson<\/p>\n

In 2020, New Times contributor Shanae Hardy<\/a> wrote a piece entitled \u201cBlack South Florida Artists Describe How Their Music Reflects the Times<\/a>.\u201d That piece was published on June 24, a month after the murder of George Floyd. Now, after the January killings of both Ren\u00e9e Good and Alex Pretti by ICE agents<\/a> in Minneapolis, the New Times revisits this idea of what music \u2014 and musicians \u2014 can say about the times, from the mouths of the marginalized.<\/p>\n

While the current climate surrounding immigration is unprecedented, America has always had a history of classism and social separation.<\/p>\n

When Miami rapper and musician Bushy B<\/a> first attended a predominantly non-Black high school in his sophomore year, he wasn\u2019t prepared for the attention of the entire class to shift to him during a US history lesson on slavery. But then again, few Black kids would be.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up, you know, I faced discrimination,\u201d said Bushy. \u201cA lot of this stuff is taught. It\u2019s passed down, even by the laws.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOthering\u201d has been weaponized for centuries in the United States, whether through the near-250-year history of chattel slavery or the modern-day US immigration policy. The ongoing discussions surrounding race, immigration, and equality in America reveal a country grappling with a legacy of racism, restriction, and prejudice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt pains me to see what\u2019s going on,\u201d says Haitian American rapper Kanis<\/a>. \u201cYou know, so many people have spent years paying taxes here and investing here and building their lives here. This land was already stolen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her last album, released in November 2025, is titled\u00a0Ego<\/a>, a love letter to her psyche and an exploration of her life, experiences, and lessons. As a second-generation immigrant herself, Kanis sings not only for her culture, but for \u201cthe misunderstood people, the people that want to take it a little further, always questioning life \u2014 the people that are not surface people \u2014 deep people, emotional people, people that get it, people that can feel it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Kanis \u2014 and for Bushy \u2014 it isn\u2019t about class, or color. It\u2019s about speaking a universal language. Music is a form of communication that everyone, regardless of their country of origin, can understand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a lot of friends who are in Alcatraz, taken by ICE,\u201d Kanis said. \u201cI have a lot of friends in transition to go back to Haiti. I have a lot of people who are scared, so they\u2019re running. And I don\u2019t think the state of fear that we\u2019re living in is something we deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bushy\u2019s recent project, a full-length album entitled Lifestyle, leans into everything that makes Miami\u2026 well, Miami. And that includes its diversity. \u201cI\u2019m always paying attention to what\u2019s going on,\u201d said Bushy. \u201cI\u2019m just painting, man, I see it and I paint it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But despite her passion for music, fellow rapper Kanis believes stepping away from the scene is the right move. The weight of the political climate is driving her to pursue a different path.<\/p>\n

\u201cEgo was my last album as a rapper,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m going to shift the focus more on something that\u2019s bigger than me, and I think that\u2019s preserving my culture and preserving the Caribbean culture\u2026 It\u2019s not about me anymore, so how can I contribute to the greater good that\u2019s not so much about ego and myself?\u201d<\/p>\n

For Bushy, it\u2019s about doing the research \u2014 forming individualized opinions and not following a prescribed narrative.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still learning,\u201d he says. \u201cAs I\u2019m getting older, I\u2019m emphasizing this idea to lead with love. I feel like love is also a universal language\u2026 There\u2019s always new things going on, and maybe it\u2019s for power, maybe it\u2019s for resources. Who knows? But for me, I\u2019m always leading with love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kanis describes herself as a very \u201cemotional\u201d person, a person who believes that change needs to happen on an immaterial level before it can ever become physical.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think anything will successfully change what\u2019s happening until there\u2019s a mental and a spiritual shift that happens in America,\u201d says Kanis.\u00a0\u201cWe need to become more unified. We need to start understanding that we\u2019re all family\u2013brothers and sisters. We need to understand that it doesn\u2019t matter what country you\u2019re from, we stand together.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

As ICE raids spread across the country and protests follow, the nation becomes progressively more divided. But Bushy B and Kanis stand for Miami\u2013fighting for cultural preservation, equality, and love.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about me anymore,\u201d says Kanis. \u201cIf it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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