A new global movement, Black Lives: From Generation to Generation, taps into the genealogy of Black music and its roots in West African, South African, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms all represented by 25 global artists and over 60 musicians. The compilation reflects the cultural connective power of the African diaspora with influences including hip-hop, jazz, funk, rock, fusion, rap, jungle, nu-jazz, soul, blues, Caribbean jazz, opera, classical music, and poetry. Song themes range from the inner workings of family, historical framing and dreams of freedom telling stories of systemic racial and social injustice.
Inspired by the worldwide George Floyd protests and birthed during the unprecedented pandemic in 2020, this collaborative project created economic opportunities for musicians in the barren financial landscape while also providing them a platform to fight injustice. Their intimate music and lyrics carry the weight of their ancestors and evoke the breadth and complexity of the Black experience, bringing the anecdotal stories of real people to life.
With a wide variety of instruments such as saxophone, trumpet, trombone, vibraphone, guitar, drums, bass, vocals, piano, keyboards, turntables, ka drums, ngoni, djembe and tama, they all play an essential part in showing the rich history of Black music. This project exemplifies the power and influence of Black music as a language to express the universal longings of freedom by African-Americans.
