If the only Black music you listen to is the stuff promoted hardest by music execs, you could be excused for believing Black artistic genius and creativity are merely myths. You would even be justified for thinking sex and violence are the only topics Black artistic minds are capable of focusing on … As if there are no other topics on God’s green earth or in this ever-expanding universe to sing about. As if Black artists and Black minds can’t even conceive of applying their artistry to topics like friendship, depression, radical self-care, environmental racism, becoming one’s best self, expanding consciousness, the joys and pains of parenthood, etc.
But, I’m here to tell you that the truth will set you free from that nonsense. Both throughout our history and within our contemporary reality, we have artists-a-plenty whose creativity has escaped the slavish plantation of narrowly-focused songs pushed by narrow-minded music execs. Our artists have covered every topic in and beyond the cosmos, and created all the genres and set all the trends while doing so.
So, in honor of Black songs that go beyond sex and violence, here are a few of my favorites. And please believe, this is only volume one of this series. There’s so much great work out there, that we could literally do this forever. But, enough foreplay; let’s get it started.
‘Umi Says’ by Mos Def
“I want Black people to be free, to be free, to be free. Want my people to be free, to be free, to be free…” Nuff said.
‘Keep Tryin’ by Groove Theory
Amel Larriuex, one of my favorite artists, sings lead on this uplifting and encouraging tune about pushing through life’s challenges, to achieve your dreams.
‘A Love Supreme, Acknowledgement’ by John Coltrane
A jazz classic like no other. On a personal note, when I lived in Atlanta, KTSU’s sister station, WCLK would play this iconic tune every day at midnight, to start the new day with that powerful message: “A love supreme, a love supreme, a love supreme, a love supreme…”
‘Spirit’ by Earth, Wind & Fire
“Spirit,” the seventh studio album by EWF was birthed during a period when the group lost one of its members. The album cover artwork shows the group, all dressed in white (the traditional color Africans wore/wear when in mourning and/or honoring the ancestors, and standing, eyes closed, in front of three pyramids set before an orange-yellow background. The song sounds and feels like the beauty of grief—full of the love we have for friends and family that triggers our pain and tears when they transition into the realm of the ancestors.
‘Vasco Da Gama’ by Hugh Masekela
How can a song about the ugliness and brutality of colonialism be so beautiful and pleasant to the ear? This is how … “Vasco da Gama” by the late, great Hugh Masekela. And what’s even more amazing is the fact that the song’s melodic, almost hypnotic sound will get you just as fired up and pissed off and righteously indignant about the oppression of Pan-African people as Public Enemy’s hard-rhymin’ “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos.”
‘I Was Here,’ by Beyoncé
If you aren’t inspired to get up, go out and do your part to change the world after hearing this soul-gripping call to service, playa, you don’t have a soul.
‘Missing’ by Mint Condition
The M-I-N-T is more than just “Breakin’ My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes).” MC is even more than the last band standing (and yes, I still speak about Mint Condition in the present tense). This song, “Missing,” sounds almost joyous with its island-inspired sound, steel drums blaring. And at first, the sound doesn’t seem to match the song’s topic—the horror of missing children. But the song’s purpose, at least how I hear it, is to inspire hope and a dogged determination for any and all of us to never give up on looking for children who have gone missing. Big ups to the Mint Factory for taking on such a heart-wrenching topic, and for seeking to minister to our spirits to hold onto hope as we refuse to give up on finding our loved ones not currently in our midst.
