Rappers Wale and Joey Bada$$ join protests in New York

Rappers Wale and Joey Bada$$ joined protesters marching in Maryland and New York on Wednesday (29Apr15) to campaign against police brutality following the death of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray, who died while in custody last week (ends26Apr15).

The 25 year old passed away after suffering a severed spine, and his death sparked outrage across the city, with angry activists clashing with cops on Monday (27Apr15), while looters took advantage of the unrest and broke into local businesses, prompting officials to declare a state of emergency.

The violent protests were replaced with mostly-peaceful demonstrations on Tuesday (28Apr15) and Wednesday (29Apr14), when campaigners in other cities showed their support by taking to the streets, too, and Wale and Joey Bada$$ were among them.

Washington, D.C. native Wale headed to Baltimore, where he joined forces with Reverend Jamal Bryant to visit students at Frederick Douglass High School to share a message of hope after addressing his own experiences of racial profiling and police harassment. He later hit the streets to march to Baltimore's City Hall with demonstrators.

Meanwhile, thousands of activists gathered in solidarity in New York City, where Joey Bada$$ was photographed chanting and holding up a sign which read, "I am Freddie Gray 1989-2015".