#BLM

Black lives matter.

Black voices matter.

Black music matters.

Content warning: this blog contains mentions of police brutality.

Local

S_nya, one.

S_nya mixes frank conversations with Black Americans and ingenious samples together to showcase Afro-Futurism, the idea that Black people in America are treated as alien. The feeling of otherness combines with the rise and fall of the energy of the album.

one. by s_nya, released 01 March 2019 1. side a. 2. side b. Thank you to everyone involved. Big thanks to Meshayla Cox, Wayne Steele (Ra Bes), Tyheed Stephens, Ann-Derrick Galliot, and Ky Tuck for your thoughts and voices. This project wouldn't have been what it is without you.

New Albums

Run The Jewels, RTJ4

“RTJ4” is full of righteous anger. The record starts off with fury against police brutality as the duo rap about the murder of Eric Garner, a microcosm of the violence against Black lives across America. “You so numb you watch the cops choke out a man like me/Until my voice goes from a shriek to whisper—‘I can’t breathe’/And you sit there in the house on the couch and watch it on TV.”

Young RJ & Mega Ran, 2HANDSUP

Young RJ and Mega Ran rap about being Black in America on “2HANDSUP.” The power behind the beats and the lyrics pound out of our speakers. The topics are the same as the ones that have been rapped or sang about for four hundred years, and they remain just as relevant.

2HANDSUP by Young RJ & Mega Ran, released 19 May 2020 1. 2050 (feat. L.A. Salami, Abstract Orchestra) 2. The Feeling 3. Algorithm (feat. MC Frontalot, Abstract Orchestra) 4. Black is Beautiful (feat. Eric Roberson, Abstract Orchestra, Marcel Black, Daru Jones) 5. Pressure (feat. L.A. Salami) 6. Extra (feat.

New Singles

Conway The Machine, Front Lines

Conway The Machine raps about the protests and riots across the country from the protestor’s point of view. A sample of a newscaster in Minneapolis during the George Floyd protests reminds listeners that violence against Black lives is not a rhetorical issue, it’s happening now. It elevates.

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Dua Saleh, body cast

Minneapolis-based artist Dua Saleh immediately sandwiches “body cast” with a recording of a woman defending her rights as police attempt to illegally enter her home. This song feels especially poignant on the birthday of Breonna Taylor, who was murdered by police in her home as she slept. In between, Dua Saleh sings about the collective trauma of Black Americans.

body cast by Dua Saleh, released 30 May 2020 (Intro) There's nothing going on here and you are violating my right, sweetheart. Now, tell me that I'm fucking wrong. You can't. Cause I'm not wrong. You're violating my right. Shut up! Shut your mouth.

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Bootlicker (Burn Baby Burn)

Racism and violence against BIPOC is nothing new, and Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire needs us to know it. It started off when America stole Black people and locked them up to build up its economy. The racist policies that built this country are still here.

Bootlicker (Burn Baby Burn) by Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, released 03 June 2020 A bodies always droppin, and all our babies watching they chased him down, and blocked him off and livestreamed while they shot him... first they chased us down, locked us up to profit off of cotton, then they chased us down, hung us high to smile while someone shot it...

Dre, Captured on a iPhone

“This is for the souls that don’t get captured on a iPhone,” Dre raps. “So many names that ain’t get hashtagged. Bodies dumped in a trashbag.” A reporter says “I have to warn you, this is hard to watch,” as listeners hear George Floyd say “I can’t breathe.”