NEW YORK 鈥� Before a late night rehearsal in December, Terrence Floyd couldn鈥檛 remember the last time he squatted on a drum throne, sticks in hand and ready to perform.
Surely, he said, it had not happened since his brother, George Floyd, died at the hands of police in Minneapolis last May, sparking a global reckoning over systemic racism and police brutality.
Now, Terrence is lending a talent he honed as a youngster in a church band to help produce and promote a forthcoming album of protest anthems inspired by the Black Lives Matter demonstrations prompted in part by his brother's death.
鈥淚 want to pay my respects to my brother any way I can, whether it鈥檚 a march, whether it鈥檚 just talking to somebody about him, or whether it鈥檚 doing what I do and playing the drums,鈥� Terrence told The Associated Press.
鈥淗is heartbeat is not beating no more,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut I can beat for him.鈥�
The untitled project, set for release one year after George Floyd鈥檚 death, follows a long history of racial justice messages and protest slogans crossing over into American popular music and culture. In particular, music has been a vehicle for building awareness of grassroots movements, often carrying desperate pleas or enraged battle cries across the airwaves.
Terrence was recruited for the project by the Rev. Kevin McCall, a civil rights activist who said he believes an album of street-inspired protest anthems does not yet exist.
鈥淭hese protest chants that were created have been monumental,鈥� said McCall. 鈥淚t created a movement and not a moment.鈥�
Some songs make bold declarations, like the protest anthem album鈥檚 lead single, 鈥淣o Justice No Peace.鈥� The well-known protest refrain, popularized in the U.S. in the 1980s, is something that millennials grew up hearing before they joined the front lines of their generation鈥檚 civil rights movement, McCall said.
McCall is featured on the track, along with his fianc茅e, singer Malikka Miller, and choir members from Brooklyn鈥檚 Grace Tabernacle Christian Center. The song is currently available for purchase and streaming on iTunes, Amazon Music and YouTube.
Godfather Records, a label run and owned by David Wright, pastor of Grace Tabernacle Christian Center, plans to put out the seven-song album. His late father, Timothy Wright, is considered the 鈥淕odfather of gospel music.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e mixing gospel music with social justice, to reach the masses,鈥� Wright said. 鈥淲e have always been strengthened through songs, like 鈥榃e Shall Overcome鈥� and 鈥榃ade in the Water.鈥� I want to put a new twist on it.鈥�
There is a history of interplay between music and Black protest. The 1991 beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles Police Department officers 鈥� as well as the contemporary 鈥渨ar on drugs鈥� 鈥� amplified NWA鈥檚 1988 anthem, 鈥淔(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk) tha Police,鈥� and Public Enemy鈥檚 鈥淔ight the Power,鈥� released in 1989. More recently, Kendrick Lamar鈥檚 鈥淎lright,鈥� Beyonc茅鈥檚 鈥淔reedom鈥� featuring Lamar, and YG鈥檚 鈥淔DT鈥� provided a soundtrack for many BLM protests.
Legendary musician and activist Stevie Wonder released his hit 1980 song, 鈥淗appy Birthday,鈥� as part of a campaign to recognize the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr鈥檚 birthday as a federal holiday. King鈥檚 Day, which faced years of opposition at the national level, was officially recognized in 1986, three years after it won the backing of federal lawmakers.
Some historians cite Billie Holiday鈥檚 musical rendition of the Abel Meeropol poem, 鈥淪trange Fruit,鈥� in 1939 as one of the sparks of the civil rights movement. The song paints in devastating detail the period of lynching carried out against Black Americans for decades after the abolition of slavery, often as a way to terrorize and oppress those who sought racial equality.
The new film 鈥淯nited States vs. Billie Holiday鈥� depicts the jazz luminary鈥檚 real-life struggle to perform the song in spite of opposition from government officials. Singer and actress Andra Day, who portrays Holiday in the film, recently told the AP the song's significance influenced her decision to take on the role.
鈥淚t was her singing this song in defiance of the government that reinvigorated the movement,鈥� Day said. 鈥淎nd so that was really incentivizing for me.鈥�
Todd Boyd, the Katherine and Frank Price Endowed Chair for the Study of Race and Popular Culture at the University of Southern California, said many of the most well-known protest chants came out of the civil rights and Black power movements, and then inspired songs.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 how culture works,鈥� Boyd said. 鈥淪omething that starts out in one space can very easily grow into something bigger and broader, if the movement itself is influential.鈥�
Terrence Floyd said the protest anthem project feels like a fitting way to
鈥淚f his music couldn鈥檛 make it out of Houston, I鈥檓 using my Floyd musical ability to reach people in his name,鈥� Terrence said.
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AP entertainment reporter Jamia Pugh in Philadelphia contributed.
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Morrison is a member of the AP鈥檚 Race and Ethnicity team. Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/aaronlmorrison.
Aaron Morrison, The Associated Press
