words.
"Ferguson, as a tragic manifestation of a much wider American problem, also risks becoming denuded and detached from its context daily, reinforcing the deeply American tendency to treat racism like a game of Whack-A-Mole—if we could just handle Ferguson, everything else will sort itself out. Lauryn Hill's "Black Rage (Sketch)”, recorded live in her living room, averts these pitfalls in part because it wasn't written with Missouri in mind (she's been performing it live since at least 2012).
..."Black Rage" is a key record for this moment because it recognizes our problems are deeply entrenched, and that postmodern detachment or cynical capitalism are poorly formed tools for people hoping to make a sustained attack on widespread systemic violence. Lauryn Hill celebrates black rage not as a raw expression of pain, nor as an irrational behavior that must be reigned in. Like Maria Rainer, it's a coping mechanism, but for Lauryn Hill, it's also something more: a practical strategy."
PITCHFORK: BEST NEW TRACK: Lauryn Hill - "Black Rage (Sketch)"
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