MP3: Lyrics Born – “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”
Lyrics Born Covers Gil Scott-Heron Classic, Citing America’s “Ugly Historical Legacy of Racial and Cultural Inequalities”
12.05.2014
photo credit: Diane Jeanty – Huffington Post
Critical praise for Lyrics Born:
“Far-reaching flows over throwback electro soul, or street-wise synth-pop for the 20-10… whatever labels you need to apply to it – at day’s end, it’s just good fucking music.” – Okayplayer
“…if Lyrics Born has one defining strength it’s his ability to get structurally and rhythmically adventurous in his flow while still remaining perfectly simple to follow linguistically.” – Pitchfork
“God bless Lyrics Born.” – PopMatters
“The Second Album is life-affirming, with a force few artists in any genre can match.” – NPR
The Song:
In the wake of the recent absurdities, acclaimed rapper/producer Lyrics Born released his latest work, a cover of Gil Scott-Heron‘s iconic poem and song, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” featuring European funk band, An Apple A Day. Released originally as an anthem for African-American activism in the 1960’s, the issues presented in the work are still prevalent today. Interviewed by SF Weekly, Lyrics Born stated, “I was both honored and ambivalent when presented with the opportunity of working with An Apple A Day on a remake of Gil Scott Heron’s classic song,” adding that he was “Honored to be the guy who was asked to remake the song, but ambivalent, because to be completely honest, the ‘opportunity’ to do so shouldn’t even exist anymore. We as human beings should’ve won The Revolution long ago.”
In the midst of a modern political revolution Lyrics Born has rewritten the lyrics, while maintaining the essence of Scott-Heron’s voice, to reflect the tragedies of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant, and the unjust deaths of other young men of color. Fully invested in the message Lyrics Born maintains that “For all the beautiful things that America is and has become, we have an ugly historical legacy of racial and cultural inequality that won’t seem to let up. News of young, unarmed Black, Brown and Beige men such as Trayvon, Oscar, and Michael shot dead by law enforcement flood our social media timelines every 28 hours, creating a relentless tide of sorrow, disappointment, and anger in the nation. This horrific tradition should’ve ended in Gil-Scott Heron’s time, and ‘The Revolution’ should’ve been studied and revered as a musical timepiece, emblematic of a troubled period in American history ‘way back when.’ Yet here we are again… and again… and again.” “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” was featured in his mixtape The Lyrics Born Variety Show Season Six which was released on October 28th and will serve as the second single from his forthcoming album, Real People, set to drop in early 2015.
Listen to “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”: https://soundcloud.com/lyricsborn/the-revolution-will-not-be-televised-an-apple-a-day-ft-lyrics-born
Read the SF Weekly interview: http://www.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2014/12/02/listen-lyrics-born-updates-gil-scott-herons-the-revolution-will-not-be-televised
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/179515055″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]Please contact Michelle or Rory if interested in talking with Lyrics Born.
Lyrics Born’s Background:
The first words of Lyrics Born‘s eighth album speak volumes about where the legendary MC stands these days: “Real people do real things. Yes we do.” The Bay Area resident born Tom Shimura has stood at the peak of high-minded underground rap, explored the far reaches of interstellar synth-hop, and blazed trails galore. The Tokyo-born, Berkeley-based artist has owned his career each step of the way, ever since a radio gig at UC Davis’ KDVS put him in the same room as Shadow, the mighty Blackalicious, and his Latyrx partner Lateef the Truthspeaker. As co-founder of the Solesides and Quannum Projects labels, LB was vital in pushing independent hip-hop music into the limelight, dropping a minted classic, The Album, with his duo in 1997. The Same !@#$ Different Day set followed in 2005, rounding up the likes of KRS-One, Dan the Automator, Cut Chemist, E-40, and Morcheeba for a series of radical remixes.
He expanded his palette again with 2008’s Everywhere at Once on historic punk label Epitaph Records. The instrument-heavy LP spawned a Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance with “I Like It, I Love It.” Now, Lyrics Born is proud to officially launch his very own Mobile Home Records with Real People. The new album’s strong focus is a compliment to the wild range of Latyrx’s 2013 return, The Second Album, which featured collaborations with folks from tUnE-yArDs, Decemberists, and Anticon, among others. As always, Lyrics Born remains committed to delivering the unexpected and outdoing himself with ease.
Links:
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“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”: ________
LBVS6: https://soundcloud.com/lyricsborn/sets/the-lyrics-born-variety-show-season-6/s-cMeJU
Bio, pics, and more here: http://audibletreats.com/lyrics-born/