each generation in its day
must find its mission and fulfill or betray
i think we're better with age
but still finding our way
i learn from younger ones today who endlessly create
while staying a conduit for those who paved the way
i know i owe a lot for the knowledge that i've gained
my greatest blessings, they were never mine to claim
we've been about the freedom
not the fame or acclaim
but swimming through these waters, it gets hard with all these chains
i carry weight of what i see, and how they may see me too
like Black Skin with White Masks in my rearview
have you ever sat and read a book that read you?
Frantz Fanon gave a real diagnosis
for a society that's still in psychosis
neocolonial chokeholds on our homelands
from colonized ideas of “being your own man”
my pronouns are we, us, and expanding
to Be A Revolution, how Ijeoma said it
open-hearted real talk, not edited
broke the whole world open raw reading Wretched
- Gabriel Teodros, “Fanonian”
I’ve got a brand new song just released today with Bocafloja and Aisha Fukushima, on Bocafloja’s latest LP Después de Mañana, a family affair that also features Brother Ali, MoYah, Juyé, Sami Miranda, Ese-O, Veronica Ruiz and much more.
You can listen to Bocafloja’s new album here.
Our song has tons of references to the work of Frantz Fanon, and as you can see, my verse also references a book that hasn’t been released yet, but that I’ve been living with and reading and re-reading this whole year: Ijeoma Oluo’s Be A Revolution, which also just went up for pre-order this week! I really think Ijeoma wrote a classic for our generation with this next book. The perspectives, the wide range of voices featured across so many fields, the strategies, the mistakes, the lessons, the fire, the hope. It’s all there. If you want to be inspired, you should pre-order the book here, and be among the first to really get to dive into it!
Bocafloja, Ijeoma and myself are doing a weekend of events in Mexico City on October 21st & 22nd, and if you or your folks happen to be in CDMX at that time you can grab tickets right here.
Speaking of events, for my people in Los Angeles, CA: This Wednesday, October 11th, I’ll be speaking on a panel alongside other Octavia’s Brood writers Walidah Imarisha, Sheree Renée Thomas, Alixa Garcia, Dani McClain, Tara Betts and Vagabon, for Rising Communities’ Policy Forum Fantastic Futures, which serves as the official launch of the Mothers Rising Fund for Guaranteed Basic Income, benefiting mothers and children in South Los Angeles. You can find more information about that event here.
In album news, Gavin at KRCL 90.9 FM in SLC selected From The Ashes of Our Homes as his pick for the Best of September, and said it’s: “One of the realest records you’ll hear all year and an immediate entry in my top 10 of 2023. Such intimate glimpses of an artist’s infinite inkwell are truly rare.”
I’m so thankful to everyone who has taken the time to listen to this album so far. I think it’s the best music I’ve ever had a hand in, and I really just want all my people to sit with the whole thing at least one time. It’s here on Bandcamp, Apple Music / iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, Tidal, and really anywhere you listen to music.
Also… TODAY IS BANDCAMP FRIDAY!!! The best day all month to support your favorite artists on Bandcamp.
And finally, the Worldwide Underground podcast is officially launching here next week.
I got a brand new mix of music for you after the jump here… see y’all in a minute!
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