Vallejo rapper LaRussell has been facing intense backlash after releasing “Heaven Sent,” a track that places Adolf Hitler, Jeffrey Epstein, and Donald Trump in the same lyrical space as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
The song, which dropped February 26 on his project Father God, Guide Me, sat quietly for two and a half weeks before LaRussell performed it live on March 14.
During the performance, he revealed that his engineer had warned him against releasing the track.
“He say, ‘Man, you probably shouldn’t put this out… You talking about Epstein, it’s a lot of s### going on,'” LaRussell recounted to the crowd before grinning and saying he dropped it anyway.
The video went viral, garnering 6 million views.
The controversial lyrics read: “Even Martin was heaven sent. Even Kanye was heaven sent…Epstein, too. We all heaven sent. Adolf, too.”
Critics argued the comparison was tone deaf and inappropriate, saying it ignored victims and their families by placing evil figures alongside civil rights leaders.
LaRussell’s mother, Yvette McDonald, organized a rally earlier this week to support her son.
“I don’t believe he’s wrong,” McDonald said at the rally. “I believe people should take the time, listen to the song and judge for themselves. Stop jumping on the bandwagon.”
Hip-Hop historian and Professor Davey D said he understood LaRussell’s intent but believed it could have been delivered differently.
“Heaven sent, I wouldn’t have used it in the context in which he did, but I understood what he was saying. It’s like, look, everything comes from God and you have people who make these crazy decisions,” Davey D said.
LaRussell dismissed the backlash as “selective outrage,” claiming the lyrics reflected artistic expression rather than support for controversial figures.
In a podcast, he explained: “What do y’all think I’m saying in this song? Is it the truth that’s bothersome or is it what YOU think I’m saying? I’m saying every human was made by God. Even the evil ones.”
The timing added fuel to the fire. LaRussell had recently signed a deal with JAY-Z’s Roc Nation, and the Epstein Files had just been released by the Department of Justice in January, which included unverified FBI submissions naming JAY-Z.
Though the DOJ clarified these tips were raw, unsubstantiated public submissions that didn’t result in investigations, the cultural atmosphere was charged.
Davey D suggested some criticism may stem from people upset with LaRussell’s Roc Nation partnership and those capitalizing on outrage for clicks.
“What is convoluting the waters is that there are people who don’t even know him who are now weighing in,” Davey D said. “That crowd of people, who knows where it will take things. It’s giving it a life of its own.”