Last month Pharoahe Monch premiered his anti-police brutality anthem “Clap”, to a sold out crowd at the Jazz Cafe in London. “Clap (One Day)” is the new single from his upcoming album, W.A.R. (We Are Renegades), to be released through W.A.R. Media and Duck Down in February 2011. This never seen before footage features Pharoahe’s passionate and intricate delivery, alongside vocalists Showtyme and Mela Machinko, and DJ Boogie Blind.
Pharoahe explains the inspiration for the song; “Instead of protect and serve, police often escalate situations, as with the cases of Sean Bell, Oscar Grant, or Aiyana Stanley Jones, and hundreds more who fell victim to police violence. I wrote this song to express my frustration, as well as raise the question of how our communities can create safety and prevent violence, with out relying on police.”
The release of this footage coincides with the October 22nd- National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality. This year is the 15th annual October 22nd, organized by communities around the country who commit to participating in local actions and events against police brutality, and work towards building community safety alternatives. People who want to stand in solidarity with October 22nd can wear all black, in memory of thousands of lives stolen by law enforcement killings.
Despite the song title’s multiple meanings, “Clap (One Day)” does not advocate violence against police. Pharoahe adds a personal perspective; “My brother is a police officer so I know there are some well intentioned people wearing blue uniforms. But the issue of police violence is much bigger than good cops and bad cops, it comes down to a broken system which criminalizes our communities, and must be completely transformed.”
A short film and music video for the song will be out in December. With Monch’s new album, W.A.R., dropping in February.
dope
MONCH is AMAZING. UNDERRATED. This track sounds dope. Peace Ya´ll
I need the CDQ mp3 to this asap… so i can ride pass the pigs bumpin this real rap…. anybody got the mp3???
ill
“so i can ride pass the pigs bumpin this real rap” you wouldnt call an officer pig to his face and you will call them when you need help. The song’s message is more than that
^Cosign
yea i have b4 and if you know your rights and the number to your local ACLU they cant do anything about it (legally)… but im a revolutionary pan african socialist and i know that this police state doesnt exist to protect and serve the people… it exists to protect and serve capitalism and throwin the people in jail guilty or not is big business… so no i dont call on pigs for help cuz i know thats not what there here for… and i understand the message in the song but the question is do you?…
short film. lol. thats funny
February?!!! Man, what’s with people giving release dates and then pushing their shit back? I’ll never fathom why artists give dates when their shit isn’t finished or at least 98% done. Ah, well at least he’s not making us wait another 8 years like he did with Desire lol.