Janelle Monae and her Wondaland Records crew are taking their musical powers and translating them to protest music. Ahead of the release of The Eephus EP, the "Yoga" singer and her crew have been holding protests in cities across the country, including Philadelphia and New York, and they've released a new version of the Electric Lady bonus track "Hell You Talmbout" to combat police brutality.
On Wednesday (Aug. 12) Monae and co. held a rally in Philadelphia, singing the chorus of "Hell You Talmbout" while chanting the names of those subjected to police brutality and "Say his/her name," and now that protest track has been recorded and released, Consequence of Sound reports.
Monae as well as Deep Cotton, St. Beauty, Jidenna, Roman GianArthur and George 2.0 call out to Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, John Crawford, Eric Garner, Michael Brown and the all-too long list of others whose names have made headlines over the last few years for being killed by police.
The shouted, angry and emotional chants blended with the wild drums of "Hell You Talmbout" and the sung chorus create a single that is thought-provoking and a new rally cry for the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Eephus EP will be released on Aug. 14 via Wondaland Records. The six-song EP includes the entire Wondaland Records roster including Monae's hit "Yoga" and Jidenna's new single "Classic Man."
