T.I. released a new song in response to Ferguson along with an open letter about the history of violence against Black men in America. The song sounds okay, in the way that every pop song Tip has put out over the last few years does… I’m just wondering why it’s Skylar Grey on the hook. She’s cool and all, but was everyone else busy? He’s claiming he doesn’t think radio will play it, so I can’t really see it for how trendy the song is sonically. The aforementioned chorus:
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Home of the brave and free, free just to murder me, land of the beautiful, cursed by the hate we throw, is this the new national anthem? Is this the new national anthem?
Maybe the “me” is metaphorical, or some way-unexpected critique of women’s healthcare in the midst of the race commentary. Maybe there were no Black men or women to sing it… Or then, maybe this is the thinking man’s version of Accidental Racist and it’s a peace gesture. In any case, it’ll probably be all over your timeline in some capacity soon enough, so it’s worth a listen.
Roll Call is a daily collection of interesting news stories, articles, blogs, and thinkpieces, curated by Tonja Stidhum and Natalie Degraffinried. They both have big hair, but they are not the same person.
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