Music Collective Talks About Black Lives Matter Movement OCT 6, 2015 – The music collective Wondaland chatted music, activism and the Black Lives Matter movement in a good piece by Nsenga Burton on HuffPo at the Centennial Park community event in Atlanta, Georgia recently. Wondaland member Roman GianArthur, a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, and engineer, told HuffPo, “We don’t approach social […]
Art-Activist-Rock Band Releases First English Speaking Song With Dramatic Video FEB 19, 2015 – Pussy Riot, the art-activist-rock collective or “band” from Russia that is constantly protesting Putin and his regime, and constantly getting hassled, beaten, arrested and even jailed for it, have released their first English speaking song called “I Can’t Breathe” inspired by […]
Journalist Writes About Power of Music and Activism in WaPo Article DEC 17, 2014 – Nia-Malika Henderson wrote a great piece for WaPo about Ferguson, Eric Garner, and how Hip-Hop musical-activism, especially with Hip-Hop artists in Missouri like T-Dubb-O, are helping foment and energize the protest movement behind these senseless killings by police officers. Check […]
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS PHOTOS OF HANGINGS VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED AUG 22, 2014 – JTMP has released a video hoping to spark a discussion and motivation for the people in Ferguson to talk about registering to vote, getting informed on who your leaders are, voting, and getting involved. We as America also need to make sure […]
MAR 26, 2012 – Last Friday on March 23, 2012 in Tampa, Florida Bruce Springsteen performed his controversial song "American Skin (41 Bullets)", a song he had only performed twice before. The song was written back in 2000 and was about the horrible shooting death of Amadou Diallo, who was shot by police 41 times when he was taking out his wallet. When Bruce performed the song in Atlanta back in 2000, the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association called for the boycott of Bruce Springsteen when he came to Madison Square Garden in NYC, where he sang the song again. The call for a boycott had no effect, Springsteen did an amazing 10-show run at MSG.
Many people are saying it is obvious the recent shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Florida last month inspired Springsteen to perform the song again. Millions of people and us here at JTMP have been shocked and horrified by the hunting down and murdering of a young man, and that the murderer is free. There is a petition over at Change.org with over 2 million signatures calling for the prosecution of the killer. The lines from the song unfortunately show in America you still can get shot for the color of your skin:
Well, is it a gun, is it a knife
Is it a wallet, this is your life
It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)
No secret my friend
You can get killed just for living in your American skin
Listen to audio of the performance of "American Skin (41 Shots)" below.