Today is June 19, 2020 - or, as it’s now more rightfully becoming known, Juneteenth. If you’re unfamiliar with Juneteenth, you’re not alone - but there’s no day like today to learn about the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the U.S. Follow this link to get started.
Released in correlation with Bandcamp’s decision to waive their usual fees in order to donate those proceeds to the NAACP, which you can read more about here and here, Toledo’s Huntorprey has debuted a previously unreleased track, “Rocket,” featuring Cincinnati’s Analog Panda. For now, this is a Bandcamp exclusive - as part of the day’s events via Bandcamp, funds from all purchases of the track will be given to the Community Solidarity Response Network of Toledo, Ohio for their Bail Out Black Mamas initiative.
For more information CSRN, their mission statement, and all the good work they do, follow this link.
Combining the on-paper-disparate elements of progressive hip-hop and psych-punk might not seem the most logical approach, but Huntorprey - with production by LA-by-way-of-Cincinnati’s own Ill Poetic - somehow make it work. It’s a brash, chaotic, emotional look into the very real, very present dangers of being a Black person in the United States.
Here’s what Huntorprey has to say about the track:
"Art is resistance" "You have a voice" "Speak the Truth" "You will be Heard"
I remember those words in bold black letters on a beat up white background. It looked like a tattered flyer. It was actually a part of an album campaign for one of my favorite artists Nine Inch Nails. At the time, I remember thinking how completely immersive all this was, but what stood out in my mind till this day was that flyer. I still keep the jpg in my phone.
Those Words: "Art is resistance" "You have a voice" "Speak the Truth" "You will be Heard"
Around the same time I stumbled upon the music and quotes of Nina Simone:"An Artist's duty is to reflect the times."
All of this resonated with me. How I viewed music. How I viewed my art. How I viewed my duty. The feeling that my creativity can be a resistance statement and a time capsule. That the spirits of Industrial, Blues, Punk, Hiphop, Rock, Spirituals, were all "Art is Resistance" Statements that "reflected the times."
It is our DUTY to:
SPEAK THE TRUTH
REFLECT THE TIMES
RESIST
I have a voice. YOU have a voice. For change.
We will be heard.
Head over to Bandcamp now to check out the new track - and if you’re looking for more artists, bands, and musicians to support, here’s a great resource to help make that happen.
Be safe out there, y’all.
