Following the events in Ferguson, Missouri, singer Lauryn Hill shared a previously unreleased version of her song “Black Rage (sketch),” with the words “Peace for MO.”
In the song, Hill takes the tune from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things” and reinvents it with lyrics about things that fuel black anger at society. (Read the lyrics here.)
“Black Rage” is one of several songs that have been released amid the protests sparked by the police shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson.
Tricia Rose, author of the book “The Hip Hop Wars,” is a professor of Africana studies and director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University. She joins Here & Now’s Meghna Chakrabarti to listen to and discuss some of those songs.
Songs Heard In This Segment
Note: Songs may contain strong language.
Lauryn Hill, “Black Rage (sketch)”
J. Cole, “Be Free”
MC Keem, “Frontline”
Guest
- Tricia Rose, professor of Africana studies and director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown University. She’s author of “The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop–and Why It Matters.”
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