The music being made continues to reflect the current socio-political climate. Here is a recap of notable socially conscious music released during August. Songs/Videos: Black AF – Crystal Axis This is the latest tune by the Anti-colonial Afropunk band from Nairobi. The band posted the following statement on the song’s YouTube page: “Black AF draws from our various experiences as […]
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This is the 4th single off Cheat Codes, the collaborative album of Danger Mouse and the Roots emcee Black Thought, which will be released on August 12. It also features a couple of hip-hop heavy hitters with A$AP Rocky and Run The Jewels. The potent tune does feature several social critiques ranging from climate change and racism (such as Killer […]
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Just about every 2020 best album list features some variance of 2020 was a shitty year, but at least we had plenty of good music to help get us through. Let’s skip all of that, and get straight to the list of the 40 best protest albums of 2020. When putting the list together several notable releases deserved consideration but […]
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As we get closer to the US Presidential election there has been a spike in protest music. Much of the music released is either directly aimed at Trump or discusses the importance of voting. As with the previous months, there is also music that addresses issues of systemic racism, police brutality, and a variety of other social concerns. Also, in […]
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We continue to live in crazy times. The issues of police brutality and ongoing Black Lives Matter protests were magnified with Jacob Blake being shot seven times by police on August 23. Since then there has been increased violence and deaths with right-wing counter-protest groups traveling to Portland and Kenosha to stir up further divisiveness. On top of that, Corona […]
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After the noticeable spike in political music in June, July eased off a bit. But there was still plenty of music to provide the soundtrack to what continues to be tumultuous times. We are still in the middle of a pandemic, people continue to protest, and Breonna Taylor’s murderers are still free. Here is a recap of some of the […]
Learn more →Black Thought, the MC of The Roots, recently released the EP Stream of Thought Vol. 2, the follow-up to Vol. 1 released earlier in the year. Because many now associate Black Thought by his birth name Tariq Trotter, as part of the house band on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, it is easy to lose sight of his influence as a socially […]
Learn more →Black Thought of The Roots recorded an original tune for the upcoming six part documentary series, Rest In Power: The Trayvon Martin Story, which debuts on July 30, 2018. Jay-Z is one of the series executive producers. Black Thought not only addresses the murder of Trayvon Martin, but he poignantly addresses the history of the systemic racism that America is built on. Potent […]
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