Janelle Monáe Leads Black Lives Matter Rally In Times Square

After spending Wednesday protesting in Philadelphia in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, musician Janelle Monáe helped to lead another protest Thursday, in front of the Times Square New York Police Department precinct in New York City, according to various social media posts.

Multiple videos posted to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram show Monáe, along with musician Jidenna, chanting "Say his name: Michael Brown" in Times Square, surrounded by a crowd of people.

According to Jidenna's Twitter account, a rally, protest and press conference were to be held Thursday from noon to 2 p.m. on the issue of police brutality, which has been highlighted in the news most recently by the anniversary of the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the death of Christian Taylor, in Arlington, Texas. Both were unarmed black men killed by white police officers.

Jidenna and Monáe, along with other supporters at the rally, also chanted "Hell You Talmbout," the title of their most recent song. In the protest song, they chant the names of black men and women killed by police, including Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin and Freddie Gray.

Monáe wrote in an Instagram post that the song was recorded to channel pain and challenge indifference.

“Silence is our enemy. Sound is our weapon. They say a question lives forever until it gets the answer it deserves... Won't you say their names?” Monae wrote in the post.

Monáe and Jidenna, who are both on the record label Wondaland Records, appeared in Philadelphia Wednesday at a march to chant the names of black men and women who have died at the hands of police or in custody, according to The Guardian.

“Won’t you say their names?" Monáe said, according to the Guardian. "Can we say their names right now? Can we speak their names, as long as we have breath in our bodies?”