Photo from artist’s website.
Music has always been a medium for crying out against social injustices. This fact is celebrated by Irish singer-songwriter Hozier in the titled track of his recently released EP.
The tune name drops a number of socially conscious singers including Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie and Mavis Staples.
The iconic Mavis Staples is not only named dropped, but she also contributes her soaring vocals. On the bridge she resonates with the lyrics “And I could cry power / Power has been cried by those stronger than me / Straight into the face that tells you to rattle your chains / If you love bein’ free.”
In a statement made to Rolling Stone, Hoizer said the following about the song: “The fights that took place 100 years ago or 200 years ago for whatever — civil rights or workers’ right etc. — don’t stop. There is no final victory.”
In today’s current political climate the battle rages on. Thankfully there continues to be a chorus of voices to cry power.