All the social justice events in the news related to the black community, have given rise to newfound activist groups and movements that have really made waves of change. One outspoken artist who shares her message through music and protest is risking her entire career to tell the world one thing: Black Lives Matter.
Janelle Monae is a fortress of funk and R&B, dressed in black and white with natural hair piled on top of her head. Her Wondaland Arts Society artists’ collective and chart-topping albums put her on stages at Black Girls Rock, the BET Awards, and the Grammys. Her most recent album “The Electric Lady” features tracks with an empowering and carefree attitude, but if you listen closely to the lyrics you’ll find some powerful messages.
“Are we a lost generation of a people? Add us to equations but they’ll never make us equal.
Why ain’t the stealing of our rights made illegal?
They keep us underground working hard for the greedy, but when it’s time to pay they turn around and call us needy.
And while you’re selling dope, we gon’ keep selling hope.
March to the street’s cause I’m willing and I’m able. Categorize me, I defy every label.”
These lyrics from her song “Q.U.E.E.N.” featuring Erykah Badu are not just powerful; they foreshadow her next course of action establishing her as a true fighter for the rights of the oppressed. Last August she released a song called “Hell You Talmbout,” where she and other members of her Wondaland Arts Collective chant the names of young black Americans killed by police, followed by the phrase “say his/her name.” The song is personal, derived from the trend #SayHerName and brought to the stage.
“This song is a vessel. It carries the unbearable anguish of millions. We recorded it to channel the pain, fear, and trauma caused by the ongoing slaughter of our brothers and sisters. We recorded it to challenge the indifference, disregard, and negligence of all who remain quiet about this issue. Silence is our enemy. Sound is our weapon. They say a question lives forever until it gets the answer it deserves…Won’t you say their names?” Monae posted on Instagram.
She was willing and able, so Monae did march to the streets. She and Wondaland artist Jidenna (“Classic Man”) helped lead a march in Philadelphia that they called a Black Joy Celebration Demonstration. They performed “Hell You Talmbout” on the Today Show, and at every show on the EEPHUS Tour, in Pennsylvania, New York, D.C., Illinois, California, Oregon, and Georgia. Monae also attended protests in Portland and San Francisco.
There’s no doubt that such a popular recording artist has attracted attention to worldwide movements like Black Lives Matter, and local ones like Don’t Shoot PDX. Releasing such a raw protest song, and weaving her powerful opinion with R&B grooves, Monae risks her reputation and her career to do what she believes is right. In the music world that is something to be greatly commended. Whether or not the world is ready for her change, in her words she’s going to keep leading “like a young Harriet Tubman.”
“Hell You Talmbout” is worth the listen and will leave you feeling the pain of the families that lost their loved ones to police and vigilante brutality.
Live performance of “Hell You Talmbout:”
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