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What Ya Want ft. Cole

by A-1

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Thank you to @Woostaar, @Mikosdagawd and @Raooobocop for producing this track, and thank you to @Cole_hard for lending her beautiful voice to it.

100% proceeds will go to charities supported by the Movement for Black Lives.

I wrote this song 4 years ago when Philando Castile was killed by a police man for calmly sitting and not doing anything, while in a car with his spouse and his daughter. Since then, every time an unarmed black or brown man had been murdered by police (or vigilante citizen) I added a piece to the song or changed something around, but I never actually released it and I'm not sure why. Either that the message wasn't strong enough, or it wasn't appropriate, or it wasn't effective enough, or that it would be seen as using a tragedy to promote myself, I'm not sure. Now, after talking about it with @Woostaar, I think the reason I never released it is because it was supposed to come out today, right now, in this time, and something bigger than me understood that.

I've been listening to people talk about change and reform for decades now. I've participated in protests and activism around peace and justice for years of my adulthood, it always felt like the possibilities were there but then everything would just stay the same. Police have continued to brutalize and oppress impoverished communities and neighborhoods of color. Right now in this country and around the world Black and Brown life is NOT valued. Patriarchy, misogyny, racism, homophobia, corporate and capitalist greed (they're all connected) are as insidious as ever, and as the folks of my parents' generation who lived through the era of civil rights and the E.R.A. often say, "nothing has changed".

Well, whether it's comfortable or not, now it's our turn to fight for change. When this is all said and done what side of history do you want to be on?

In this song I say "But first it's gonna be a big fight.." but I want to clarify that your fight doesn't have to look the same as everyone elses. It doesn't need to be molotov cocktails and throwing sticks and stones in the streets if you feel that's not your calling. Whatever you skill set is, USE THAT in this struggle, because for real change to happen the pressure needs to come from all angles. Painters.. fight with your painting. Writers.. fight with your writing. Artists use your art. Organizers.. organize. Activists.. GET ACTIVE. Lets all hold each other accountable, but also hold each other closely and with love, because after all, justice is just people loving each other in public.

I hope this song energizes you and empowers you to fight your fight. Bump it for your protests, your marches, your movements. I hope you can draw strength from it and motivation to never stop learning, teaching, doing what's right, fighting, and loving as hard as you can.


I'm fighting because I love you, if you love me stand with me and lets get this equality so we can all love each other properly.

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released June 3, 2020

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A-1 San Francisco

The best rapper ever.

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