Two Oakland rappers are launching a campaign to rename Fruitvale BART Station. They released a tribute album to raise money for the effort. The music is part of an emerging musical genre: "R.I.P Oscar" songs.

Rap has been much maligned in its recent history by Gangsta rappers singing about bitches, ho’s and payback that many people forget the genre started with much different roots.

So it’s nice to see that a quick survey of "Oscar Grant R.I.P" songs harken back to the rap of the 80s – it’s political, about empowerment but no talk about payback or smokin’ cops.

One of the songs that made the YouTube rounds early-on was by Supreme Sketch, whose takeaway from the Oscar Grant shooting is to turn away from the thug life.

"I drink wine not champagne,
Toast to the life,
It gets better with age."

“I swear in Arizona they got the game y’all,
Demanding papers based on our skin tone
Got rid of ethnic studies a lack of education
They don’t understand our cultures and situation."

Stepping into that tradition is an East Oakland rapper named Young Gully. About a month ago, Gully released the Grant Station Project, a full-length tribute album that aims to rename the Fruitvale BART station in Grant's honor. The album is the result of a meeting of the minds between Gully and Pendarvis Harshaw.

“I thought it was important to have something standing to remind the officers of our community that they have a responsibility they have to uphold,” Harshaw said.

Gully had already begun work on an Oscar Grant tribute album when Harshaw came up with the idea for Grant Station.

He brought the idea to Mayor Dellums last summer. Dellums response? He'll suggest it to BART.

What do you think? Should BART rename the Fruitvale station to after Oscar Grant.