New York, NY (Top40 Charts) What does it mean to "RISE UP"? What does it mean to #RESIST? These questions are the core of the power-packed new J.PERIOD single: "RISE UP!" Premiering today on RollingStone.com (click to read), "RISE UP!" is the title track from J.PERIOD's forthcoming EP of the same name, inspired by the EPIX Original Docu-series
America Divided, and created in collaboration with The Playlist Retreat.
Following the call- to-arms of the lead single, "Miranda" feat.
Jesse Williams,
Rhymefest & Xzibit, "RISE UP!" brings together a historic lineup of lyricists --
Black Thought of The Roots, Posdnuos of
De La Soul and
Pharoahe Monch -- to explore the meaning of "resistance" and the state of our Union… on wax. Produced by J.PERIOD, "RISE UP!" also features Grammy-winning singer Joss Stone, and additional production/ instrumentation from Larrance Dobson of 1500 Or Nothin (Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland),
Jesse Blum (Misterwives) and Stro Elliot.
Available May 2, RISE UP:
Music Inspired by
America Divided features additional contributions from Aloe Blacc, Eric Roberson,
Daniel Crawford, DJ Spinna, POMO, Masego, Tall
Black Guy, Dayne Jordan, Maimouna Youssef, spoken word poet Mayda De Valle, and more.
Executive produced by Norman Lear, Shonda Rhimes, and Common, the EPIX Original Docu-series,
America Divided features celebrity hosts
Jessie Williams (Senior Producer),
America Ferrera,
Rosario Dawson, Amy Poehler and more investigating a wide range of social justice issues including criminal justice, immigration, housing and voting rights, and education. The show also features an original theme produced by J.PERIOD.
J.PERIOD's most recent production, The Hamilton Mixtape, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums in December 2016.
ARTIST STATEMENTS:
J.PERIOD: "These are turbulent times in America, with protests and marches spilling out into the streets in record numbers, and activism on the rise. RISE UP was born out of that same energy—seeing injustice and feeling compelled to act—but sparked from the question of: what does it mean to resist? What does it mean to "rise up"? I'm grateful to have these three legendary MC's to provide their perspective on what's going on in the world right now."
POSDNUOS (DE LA SOUL): "Having all of these artists together on a track means we are willing to invest our creativity, our time... to speak upon something that we can't just ignore. With the state of affairs our country is in, it's definitely time to rise up as scholars, organizers, activist entertainers and just everyday people and be counted in!"
PHAROAHE MONCH: "I'm really honored to be a part of this. I think about music from a historical perspective: when someone looks back and says, "What type of art was being contributed when
America was going through traumatic times…?" I want to have something honest for people to discover."
BLACK THOUGHT (THE ROOTS): "Rise Up is very necessary. Point blank. It speaks to the current political climate in this country in a way that is clear and articulate. Projects like this are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the sort of creative pushback that is yet to come out of such absurdly turbulent times."
