NEW YORK, USA (AP) — Rappers are making their voices heard in song and on the ground in Ferguson, Missouri, in the wake of Michael Brown’s shooting death, channeling hip-hop’s earlier roots when the genre worked as a voice for the oppressed and spoke out against injustice.

“It’s really important to see hip-hop’s role of being some grown-ups and doing some really stand-up, grown-up stuff,” Public Enemy’s Chuck D, one of rap’s most powerful voices, said in a recent interview. “These people have actually stood up … and that has to be saluted.”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer said he’s impressed with rappers such as J Cole, who released a heartaching, tearful song called Be Free inspired by Brown, the unarmed 18-year-old who was shot to death by a Ferguson officer on August 9.

Others in rap also have lifted their voices: Talib Kweli, like J Cole, marched in Ferguson and spoke out about injustice; David Banner appeared on CNN; Nelly started a scholarship for teens in honor of Brown; and Lauryn Hill dedicated her song Black Rage — which uses some of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s My Favorite Things — to the Ferguson community.

The largest hip-hop gesture for Brown, who was an aspiring rapper, came Wednesday when the Game released the song Don’t Shoot, in which he’s joined by all-stars like Diddy, Rick Ross and 2 Chainz, among others. Sales from the song will benefit the Mike Brown Memorial Fund on GoFundMe, which has raised nearly US$300,000 in two weeks.

Other black entertainers have spoken out including Kerry Washington, Jesse Williams and Spike Lee, who attended Brown’s funeral on Monday. At a concert last week where he performed Marvin Gaye’s seminal What’s Going On? at the Hollywood Bowl, John Legend wore a shirt that said ‘don’t shoot’.