Earlier today, Kate Nash revealed that one of her best friends, a man named Mika, was severely beaten last week in what was obviously a hate crime, leaving him with a fractured face. In response to this horrible incident, the London-based singer penned an open letter about the experience, as well as a song dedicated to him called “Pink Limo Ride.” Above all, she urges her fans to check out the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, an anti-prejudice organization inspired by the 2007 murder of the 20-year-old Lancaster. The song — which brims with pain, love, and aggression — and Nash’s full letter are below.

I’ve never been involved nor had a friend involved with a hate crime before. I didn’t know what to expect or how that would feel. I’ve read stories in the news. I’ve read about The Sophie Lancaster Foundation online. In fact I first heard of it because of my friend Mika who works for Illamasqua make up. Mika is an incredible make up artist, he is vibrant, he is loyal, he is a good friend and he is passionate about life. At a party he is loud & fun to be with. If it’s a fancy dress party his costume is the best, he’s the first person on the dance floor & he’s the one you sneak off with a few hours later to share secrets and discuss the importance of the spice girls.

I remember a night out with Mika that was about to end in a kebab shop, we walked down the street to find a cab & agreed collectively to have one more drink. We somehow ended up at a Turkish woman’s private 50th birthday party & after 10 minutes of being there we were invited to the table, given birthday cake & Mika was hand in hand, dancing & laughing with the birthday girl until the bar closed. Nights like this come often when you spend time with someone as fun & spontaneous as Mika.

Mika was at my house last Thursday night, the 11th [of] July. I had a couple of friends over for a BBQ and he stopped by that evening. He had just come from a comedy show where he had been selected from the audience to participate, which he was more than happy to do, and had had a ‘clint eastwood style shoot down’ with balloons. The night ended in us painting each others faces with ‘kiss’ style make up.

On the 13 [of] July Mika went out with one of his best friends, a girl who dresses alternatively and has a lot of tattoos. They were in a chicken shop in soho when a couple of guys took a disliking to her alternative look. They threatened to stab her because of the way she was dressed, Mika stood in & was beaten so badly he now has a fracture in his face.

When I looked on facebook and saw a picture of him I cried. This next part of this piece is harder to write than describing to you how awesome my friend is. I want to say a thousand things, about how I am angry, disgusted, about how sad and sick it makes me seeing my friend like this. I want to scream fuck into a pillow. I’m concerned as to how my friend will get his confidence back after this. I can’t even imagine how he feels. All I can do is be there for him. The Sophie Lancaster Foundation have also been there for him. They were in touch instantly & helped guide him through how to deal with the police and investigation.

There are some small things I can do to help my friend, one of those was write him this song. But there must be more that I can do. I want to stamp out hate and prejudice. I want things to change. If this story has made you want to change things too then please head to http://www.sophielancasterfoundation.com. Read Sophie’s story and let’s see how we can help.

Love not hate,

Kate