Election season is almost wrapped up, and as it comes time to check off your choices in those ballots, we urge you to vote!! We also tell you to vote with patience, vote with close attention-to-detail, and most importantly, to vote with love! This is a playlist to help you endure this chaotic voting season and put you in the mood to do better.
Sullen Sunday (Ft. Ty Dolla $ign & Nia Miranda)
Ant Clemons
REPRISE: A Roc Nation Album
This song was chosen for the way it presents itself. The keys are slow and make it easier for the typical listener to follow what’s being said. Not to mention that we get a strong Ty Dolla $ign feature that really leads and ties the song together.
America (feat. Casey Veggies & Joey Bada$$)
Mac Miller
Album: Macadelic
This is a classic track, It displays the state of America from the weary angry citizen’s point of view. The features are solid in this song and they all compliment each other from Joey coming charged with his verses to Mac trying a more serious narrative.
American Idiot
Green Day
Album: American Idiot
The song really is self explainable. Talking about how Americans are idiots for a number of reasons, whether its off false pretences, new tensions rising, not wanting to be part of the “redneck” agenda and paranoia rising or just self-realizing “I’m the idiot” This song holds up today…
I’m Not Racist
Joyner Lucas
Single
This song comes from a trigger warning. It’s a POC artist rapping from their POV of a conversation between a white man speaking to them. It’s a song that makes you think because on one end you’re being forced to hear a viewpoint you may disagree with, and on the other end, it being insight on how the opposing point of view sees us even if it’s inaccurate since they created everything that they have a problem with in the song.
Apparently
J. Cole
Album: 2014 Forest Hills Drive
This song had to be included because aside from talking about having faith in hard times.
He mentions how you should keep your head high when the transitions can be hard when trying to follow your version of success. He touches on how humans are “apparently” mistake-prone. Doesn’t mean you can redeem yourself!
XXX. (feat. U2)
Kendrick Lamar
Album: DAMN.
I think the start is very bold, is rips from a few samples that Kendrick cleverly uses to inform the listener that there’s no grudge if you can live your true American dream while asking for “America’s hand,”. SAll white the video shows a policeman getting gunned down. Kendrick speaks nonetheless we will persevere even when we kill each other just to get by. The U2 feature really compliments Kendricks’s true message on making us really questions our actions while calling social issues.
Tell Me Something Good (feat. Chaka Khan)
Rufus
Album: Rags To Rufus
Sometimes you just need the polar opposite of the stress and heavy emotions everyone’s been collectively feeling. This song is the polar opposite in terms of the tone and the funky end result of this track. The songs literally asking for good news which is what we all truthfully yearn for lately.
Scared To Death
KAYTRANADA
Album: BUBBA
This is another song driven by production. Really that’s the only reason aside from it being titled scared to death. These are trying times so I added this song because it’s really up to interpretation. The tempo to the beat to the ominous noises and effects really match the spooky times.
Carefree
Mick Jenkins
Album: The Circus
Mick Jenkins is the lyrical vigilante we need today and forever. Known for his content to have substance, Carefree is no different. The song features various topics of discussion, but the prominent is the mental toll that being a POC in America.
Dreams
Fleetwood Mac
Album: Rumours
This song has always been popular, in recent times has gone through yet another wave of streams, and for good reason too. A well produces a song that has aged really well. It’s a nice song to have as an end to the playlist as well as a reminder for us to vote with love 🙂
