Happy Friday once again!

I have one more single to share with you before the full Believer, a.k.a. The Last Shall Be the First album is released (can you believe we're only two weeks away??)! You can stream my new politically charged anthem "No Empires!" featuring the incomparable April Rucker and Civil now!

This song was initially conceived in response to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, and the subsequent video of his shooting that went viral. I always do my best to avoid…frankly, snuff films…for my mental health—but unfortunately, this one started playing in my feed before I could look away. Watching just a fragment of what transpired that day disturbed me something fierce, and it’s clearly something I haven’t really ever gotten over. Since that day, I have not felt comfortable jogging outdoors—something I used to do regularly for exercise. When we say the poison of white supremacy has an exponential ripple effect, this is what we mean: the death of a Black person at the hands of racism affects the physical and mental health of multitudes, even those of us who didn’t even know the victim.

The very first Logic Pro session for “No Empires!” was started on May 24, 2020—which unbeknownst to me at the time was just a day before yet another extrajudicial murder of a Black man would shake the world. The anger and fervor fueling the protests of the killing of George Floyd that swept our communities that summer was so palpable: I did my best to channel as much of that energy as I could into this record. With my last album completed just before the shooting of Michael Brown similarly ignited Ferguson in the summer of 2014, I think I saw this record as my chance to finally make commentary on so much of the wrongful violence—often involving guns and force, but also the systemic violence related to the denial of food, shelter, healthcare, etc.—facing Black people, queer people, women, and children in this country. It was important for me to communicate that anger can indeed be righteous, and that our collective righteous anger, put to work, is a powerful force for liberation. Discontent with injustice, therefore, to me, is the pinnacle of holiness.

Having a Black woman’s voice on this song was vital to me, given that Black women have been at the forefront of Black liberation since the very beginning. And April added the PERFECT texture to the mix, elevating the whole song to the next level. It was also important to have a voice on this song from someone who does the on-the-ground work as both an artist and community leader. Civil is unmatched as a voice of and for the people: his lyrics are always intersectional, they’re biting, and they’re human. I am honored to bear witness to both of these artists, and I’m so thankful they each agreed to be a part.

Unfortunately, much of that energy from the summer of 2020 has been met with little to no institutional change: the blackout squares that took over everyone’s social media profiles came and went, calls to defund the police were simultaneously dismissed as ludicrous and yet somehow also seen as so dangerous that they were blamed for flipping the House in the 2022 election, and as we just witnessed here in Tennessee, when fascist lawmakers are faced with pressure to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, related to gun control, they just respond with more fascism.

But I sense something incredible shifting with our nation’s youth in particular: they aren’t taking no for an answer. And if that means tearing this whole thing down and starting over, I think a lot of them are saying “so be it.” The kids are alright.

Columbus, unfortunately we had to pivot away from the listening party on May 27 at Long Street Studio due to low ticket sales. HOWEVER, I still have something very special planned for Memorial Day weekend. I’ll be joining my sister Kweli Buckner on stage at the Ohio Black Expo Riverfront Culture Fest + Convention on Sunday, May 28. Get tickets at ohioblackexpo.com. You'll still be able to pick up a Believer CD in-person at the event or order at raycurenton.com. See you then!

Love you deeply ❤️

Ray

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