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I’ve never been an enthusiastic fight video watcher. Even when I was seeing them almost daily during my peak WorldStar browsing days, I’d always view them with an undercurrent of shame; after witnessing the Battle of Montgomery, I now understand that what I need to enjoy them is a specific context: heroism.
If you’re not familiar with the Battle, you may not have spent too much time on social media in the last 24 hours. It started when a group of white people began attacking a dock worker, allegedly for telling them to move their boat so another one could come in. He held his own nobly for as long as he could, but a convoy of Black bystanders soon joined in (including a teenager who swam into the melee, landing him the nickname “AquaMayne”).
Team White were put down with the quickness, and the Battle ended with four arrest warrants issued (with more to come). Videos of the melee from different angles spread across social media, and with them came an overwhelming satisfaction at the sight of justice delivered quickly through unity of mind, fist, and folding chair.
Right on time to capture the giddy joy is Gmac Cash. A Detroit artist who’s one of the few actually funny comedy rappers (if you’ve heard his song “Haircut“ and it hasn’t played through your head at the barber’s, your cut is probably trash), GMac delivers a hilarious recap of the Battle and its rippling effects. Over a beat that’s pure boilerplate Michigan, Gmac adopts the posture of a friend who’s outlining the video for someone who hasn’t seen it, bursting with pride throughout. “Seen a couple of them boys go night night,” he raps. “And we got the first Black man to swim to a fight.” It’s the song a piece of history deserves.