Compiled by Chuck Lightning, an Atlanta producer type, this mix covers a spectrum of music well beyond my usual shoals - in a nutshell, and quite explicitly, it's black music, soul, funk, rap.
And that is the charge I believe all black artists need to be taking up right now. We need to be complex freedom fighters. There is serious work to be done, real discussion to be had in terms of art, culture, entertainment, technology, and politics in America.
So, somewhat surprisingly, I've ended up getting into the cd. There's lots to like; stand outs are a slow-burning cover of Stevie Wonder's "Cold War" by Janelle Monáe, a mellow pop track, "Chaos" by Spree Wilson, and a polished indie-soul number called "Rewind" by Scar (described by C. Lightning as an underground Atlanta superstar whose upcoming album is full of songs that sound like Phil Collins loitering in a seedy, outer-space trip club, telling the scantily clad girl across from him all about his broken heart), none of whom I'd heard of before, and also an amazing version of an Alice Cooper song called "I Never Cry" by Nina Simone.
