"People were encouraging me," says Plies, who initially released the song as a YouTube video and then digitally. "They were yelling for a whole hour and a half before I actually did it. That was my first time performing the record."
On it, Plies rhymes: "I never thought wearing no hoodie could cost your life/And I never thought you could just kill somebody and get out the same night."
We Are Trayvon, which has sold about 2,500 downloads and attracted more than 363,000 YouTube views for the official video, is just one of the dozens of such songs that have arisen since the unarmed teenager was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch captain while walking in a gated community. George Zimmerman, who sa ys he shot Martin in self-defense, pleaded innocent to second-degree murder charges.
Proceeds from the Plies song will go to the Justice for Trayvon Martin Foundation, a charity established by the Martin family.
One of the first tribute songs released was Believe In Love, performed by '90s RB group the Rude Boys and Florida rapper Trick Daddy. Chaka Khan, with Eric Benet, Kelly Price, Kenny Lattimore and other celebrities, paid tribute by re-recording her 2007 track Super Life.
Last week, Wyclef Jean released the free download Justice (If You're 17), in which he warns hoodie-wearing teens to "watch out for the neighborhood watcher." The video has garnered 73,000 views on YouTube.
How well these songs sell is immaterial, says Vibe editor Jermaine Hall.
"I don't think that the point is to capitalize on the situation," he says. "It is a conscious effort by these artists to document and raise awareness."
The wide range of songs that have sprung up reflect the power of social media, which has allowed unknown artists to have a voice along with their more famous counterparts, he says.
"Ten years ago, these people may have made a s ong and it would have fallen on deaf ears," says Hall. "Now, it can be put on the Web and touch somebody."
Among the other tribute songs available:
•Made You Die, Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def), Dead Prez and mikeflo. An angry protest song built around an instrumental of Nas' Made You Look.
•God Don't Love Me (R.I.P. Trayvon Martin), Mistah F.A.B. The Bay Area rapper talks about his aggravation over another senseless crime.
•Zimmerman 2012, Cody ChesnuTT. The guitarist and singer/songwriter unleashes a scathing indictment of the shooting suspect.
•Hoodies Up, Kountry Smoke. The rapper from East St. Louis, Ill., urges people pay homage to Martin.
•Trayvon, Jasiri X. A video for the song by the Pittsburgh rapper re-creates the events leading up to the shooting.
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