“The Tulsa race massacre took place on May 31st and June 1st 1921, when mobs of white residents, many of them deputized and given weapons by city officials, attacked Black residents and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has been called ‘the single worst incident of racial violence in American history.’ The attack destroyed more than 35 square blocks of the district - at the time the wealthiest Black community in the United States, known as ‘Black Wall Street’.”
These are the words that open Yearwood’s music video for his song Black Panther. The video, which was released on May 31st in commemoration of the 100 year anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre, features real footage from the BLM protests in LA from last summer. The song is the seventh and final track off the Trinidadian rapper’s upcoming album Animal Farm. Yearwood’s message of anti-racism and unity is clear in both the song’s lyrics and visuals. Powerful images of the BLM protests, KKK, and other moments of racial violence are strung throughout the video. Yearwood also includes statements and statistics measuring the inequality between Black and White Americans that play a key part of the video.
Tomorrow is Juneteenth. For the first time ever, the day slaves were emancipated will be recognized as a federal holiday in the US. This act is a small step forward, but still in no way meets the demands made in the BLM protests last summer. There is still a lot of work needed to do to deliver the equality promised to Black Americans, however artwork and music like Black Panther is tackling the issue head-on. Yearwood’s video is very uncomfortable to watch, and that is exactly the point. Yearwood’s song is not meant for easy listening; it is meant to initiate dialogue and spark change. The song and video are a snapshot of the current state of America, but not the future.
Watch the music video below and if it resonates with you, share it to your community and help spread Yearwood’s message. Stay connected with Yearwood through his socials to make sure you never miss new music. Remember to follow Hip Hop Scriptures to stay updated on the latest Fresh Artist Friday.
ARTIST BIO:
Five years ago when relocating to NYC for a job I reached out to my cousin's boyfriend and asked him to take me to the studio. He thought this was hilarious, "Ivy League Danny wants to rap?!?!?" Got to the studio for a 3 hour session and for the first 45 minutes everyone was just drinking and smoking, so I just rolled with it. Eventually the engineer turns to me and says "aight bro, spit your verse". I rap my verse for him and my cousin's boyfriend and they both had the same reaction: "wow! that was actually pretty good!" Ultimately that job in NYC didn't work out and ended up having a 16 month spell of unemployment, which gave me a lot of time to continue writing songs; I'd just listen to beats for hours at a time, download the ones that I liked and write new songs to them. Eventually decided to not only pursue a career as an artist, but also build a data science driven startup company around music. In terms of influences, DMX is the reason I first started listening to music as an activity. Prior to hearing him it just wasn't even a thing I did. After that JAY Z is another great influence within rap. Growing up in Trinidad and Tobago we also listen to a ton of dancehall and soca, so there are some influences from some of the greats of both genres, Vybz Kartel in particular. Although most of my music would be categorized as rap, I love to experiment and create different sounds that fit well with my Trinidadian accent.
