February 2018 ~ Black Panther Month

in

"I thought of this song after watching news reports about people in Philadelphia rioting to celebrate the Eagles winning the Super Bowl. Many, many people pointed to the hypocrisy in the way officials and media treated these riots, as compared to Black Lives Matter and similar demonstrations. It's really kind of crazy how blatant the bias is on this front. Of course, Joe Strummer is talking about white riots in a different way in this song -- almost in reverse."

Featuring: Bilal, Manu Dibango, U.S. Girls, Lee Morgan, and more. 

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February 2017 ~ We On Now

in

"I love it when great rappers get political, socially conscious, whatever you want to call it. Especially when they continue to sound like they're doing the same old rap braggadocio. Nope. This is a song about black power. Period. And Staples doesn't pull any punches."

Featuring: Vince Staples, Jesca Hoop, Oddisee, Las Cafeteras, and more.

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June 2016 ~ Feeling the Fugue

in

"One of the surprising things I've learned is how much more moving I find dance performances than classical music. Spurred by that experience, I've been trying to develop my classical music knowledge a little. As I suspected, knowing something about the historical/musicological context and technical skeleton of the music really helps."

Featuring: Margaret Glaspy, Vince Staples, Christian Scott, Bacao Rhythm and Steel Band, and more.

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