Rapper Tyler, The Creator wishes ‘death to all data centers’ in Georgia

Grammy-winning rapper Tyler, The Creator criticized the expansion of Georgia data centers and raised concerns about environmental justice in Black communities this week.

On Tuesday, the founding member of the California-based hip-hop crew Odd Future, who’s been seen around Atlanta, reposted a video of the Rev. Keyanna Jones Moore speaking at a DeKalb County Board of Commissioners meeting on his Instagram story, adding some choice words about the environmental impact of data centers.

“Death to all data centers. the growth of water contamination is insane. shocked how this is even a convo but of course every official looks out for their own pocket linings,” Tyler wrote on his now-expired post.

Data centers are effectively huge warehouses that store computer servers to power artificial intelligence and other digital products.

Metro Atlanta has emerged as a top U.S. market for data centers, but that boom has created tensions, with server farms emerging as a potent political issue on both sides of the aisle.

In the original video, Moore, who lives in South DeKalb, called out local officials who recently approved a 100-day freeze to review infrastructure and water usage for proposed data center expansions. The extension was approved in a 5-2 vote earlier this month.

Moore said the development projects target Black residents.

“My neighborhood is the one where you sold the land and put Cop City, where you’re trying to allow someone to put data centers right now. You have the facts about data centers, and you want to ignore them because for some reason, you’re upset because people understand what environmental racism is,” Moore said.