“You Grew Up” is a look at the outside pressures that affect children, and in this piece men in particular, and how these can skew their views as they grow older. The two examples that artist Oddisee focuses on in this work are those of a young white man who grew up with Oddisee (a black man), and a young Muslim man.
Read More“I’m Not Racist” is a debate between two diametrically opposed men, one white and one black, arguing over the state of race relations in America. It is a raw, uncensored look at the stereotypes and tropes that create the ever-expanding racial divide.
Read More“Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)” is from “The Hamilton Mixtape”, a collection of covers and re-imaginings of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical “Hamilton”. The piece speaks to the mistreatment of, and resentment towards immigrants in America, and the performers were handpicked by Miranda as people who he believed “represent all corners of the world, in line with the songs message”.
Read More“America” is from the 2017 album “Everybody” by rap artist Logic. This track explores what it means to be an American citizen in today’s society, and makes references to the Trump administration, Kanye West, the Flint water crisis, and white supremacy, among other things.
Read MoreA remix of Beyonce, and Kendrick Lamar’s “Freedom” this piece is filled with references to the Black Lives Matter movement as well as actual video content from many of the murders and assaults on people of color from the past few years. The work is combined with Jesse Williams’ incredibly powerful BET Awards speech about cultural appropriation.
Read MoreWritten under his “Blood Orange” moniker, Devonte Hynes wrote this piece as a collection of his thoughts, a delve into the life, and mind, of a person of color in the modern world. Racial profiling, murder, stereotyping, all things that people of color face daily. It is less of a song, and more of a stream of consciousness set to music.
Read MoreFinding himself deeply affected by the death of Freddie Gray (April 19, 2015 – Baltimore, Maryland), Prince wrote this tribute song. Mentioning both Michael Brown and Freddie Gray, the piece is a reflection on the violence that spread through the country in the past few years from unjust killings. The piece ends with a direct quote from Prince: “The system is broken. It’s going to take the young people to fix it this time. We need new ideas, new life…”
Read MoreSet to the tune of “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music, “Black Rage” was a reprisal, brought back shortly after the shooting of Michael Brown (August 9, 2014 – Ferguson, Missouri). The piece looks at the atrocities the African American community has faced for years and how this hatred can take us into dark places.
Read MoreWritten for the movie 2014 film “Selma” which followed the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., this Oscar winning song connects the struggle and victories from the civil rights era to modern America and the battle that continues to wage for equality between all races. “We say that Selma is now because the struggle for justice is right now” (Common, Academy Awards acceptance speech).
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