Africa Is a Country

Political R&B

Political R&B

By
Sean Jacobs

“Before they lay your body down / you got to change the world before you six feet under the ground.”

Martin Luther King Jnr. and Malcolm X.

Singer Novel takes R&B back to its political roots in the song and music video for “Body Down.” Sample lyric: “Before they lay your body down / you got to change the world before you six feet under the ground.”

The music video references Malcolm X and Martin Luther King as it points to the part-political roots of this musical genre in the 1960s.

“Body Down” is a remix of an indie pop song by English singer Jack Peñate.  In Novel’s hands–aided by the video–it becomes a comment on violence  (police brutality, gun violence, assassinations, Islamophobia, militarism, etcetera). Troy Davis’ execution also makes it into the video.

As one Youtube viewer commented: “… this song makes me want answers to questions that the government refuses to answer or even acknowledge.”

Remix culture  sometimes has its benefits.

Watch.

Via Eddie STATS Houghton

Further Reading

Not exactly at arm’s length

Despite South Africa’s ban on arms exports to Israel and its condemnation of Israel’s actions in Palestine, local arms companies continue to send weapons to Israel’s allies and its major arms suppliers.

Ruto’s Kenya

Since June’s anti-finance bill protests, dozens of people remain unaccounted for—a stark reminder of the Kenyan state’s long history of abductions and assassinations.

Between Harlem and home

African postcolonial cinema serves as a mirror, revealing the limits of escape—whether through migration or personal defiance—and exposing the tensions between dreams and reality.

The real Rwanda

The world is slowly opening its eyes to how Paul Kagame’s regime abuses human rights, suppresses dissent, and exploits neighboring countries.

In the shadow of Mondlane

After a historic election and on the eve of celebrating fifty years of independence, Mozambicans need to ask whether the values, symbols, and institutions created to give shape to “national unity” are still legitimate today.

À sombra de Mondlane

Depois de uma eleição histórica e em vésperas de celebrar os 50 anos de independência, os moçambicanos precisam de perguntar se os valores, símbolos e instituições criados para dar forma à “unidade nacional” ainda são legítimos hoje.