*Janelle Monáe is setting the passion of the Black Lives Matter movement to music with the release of the new song, “Hell You Talmbout.”
TheGrio.com notes the opening of the anthem with its “relentless and punctuating sound of snare drums” as Monáe and her roster of Wondaland Records artists (Jidenna, Roman GianArthur, Deep Cotton, St. Beauty and George 2.0) takes turns chanting the names of black people who were killed in fatal encounters with law enforcement. Among those named are Sandra Bland, Michael Brown and Freddie Gray.
After each name is chanted, a repeated refrain of “Say Her Name” or “Say His Name” follows. For Monáe, “Hell You Talmbout” serves as a call to no longer stay silent about the current dilemma happening with law enforcement and black people while expressing the “pain, fear, and trauma” that results from “the ongoing slaughter of our brothers and sisters.”
“This song is a vessel,” she explained on Instagram. “It carries the unbearable anguish of millions. We recorded it to channel the pain, fear, and trauma caused by the ongoing slaughter of our brothers and sisters. We recorded it to challenge the indifference, disregard, and negligence of all who remain quiet about this issue. Silence is our enemy. Sound is our weapon. They say a question lives forever until it gets the answer it deserves… Won’t you say their names?”
To hear “Hell You Talmbout,” click on the audio below:
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