Whom do you look up to? People like Common, Stevie Wonder, and Michelle Obama are focused on love, healing, and serving others. And Thurgood Marshall’s vision was exemplary of that, from his quest for equal justice to simply having true empathy for others. I think our purpose as human beings is directly tied to how we help people. Why did you want to get involved with that project? You collaborated with Common on “Stand Up for Something” for Marshall, a biopic on the first black U.S. Too often we change the narrative to make things more digestible, but the reality is, if we don’t address injustice honestly and openly, we’ll never heal. What are you hoping to achieve by tying your music to activism? I want to tell the truth about the racial terror that’s happened and that’s still happening today in this country. You’ve also helped shed light on lynching in America by covering Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” for the Equal Justice Initiative. Having the group connect with “Rise Up” made me more aware that I need to use my platform to serve the community. It’s a huge honor because Black Lives Matter represents standing up to oppression and persecution. But sometimes a good cliché is exactly what you need in a moment of hopelessness.īlack Lives Matter has adopted the song as its unofficial anthem.
Honestly, there are lines in there I’d normally find cliché. Most of the song came streaming out in the first freestyle recording. “Rise Up” started as a sort of prayer-I thought about what I needed to hear to be able to get back on my feet.
What inspired you to write “Rise Up”? My music and my personal life were both stagnating at the time, and a friend of mine had been diagnosed with cancer.