Playlist
Note from the curator:
I do not own the copyright to any of the songs listed here. This playlist points exhibition viewers to the musical artists whose work resonates with the tone of the exhibition.
1.
Love Ballad — LTD ft. Jeffrey Osborne
This is a classic R&B soul love song that slows down time and recenters the spirit. This song expresses the joy and mysteries of love and the appreciation for our magic that cannot be seen. This is all a part of the celebration of Black life.
2.
2Much — Def.Sound ft. Lafemmebear
The seductive groove of this song combined with Def.Sound’s lyrics makes 2Much a work of validation. It encourages self-care, pleasure, and the will to go on. There is more to come. Somehow, we have more to give. Too much breath in my chest to let it go now/Too much pop I got left to move slow now/I won’t let up this pain won’t make me fall down/Imma go back to my desk/Yesss. Repeat.
3.
Introduction — Marian Anderson
The way in which Anderson expresses the sonic mastery of her vocal range in this song, from a knowing growl to soaring soprano, should make us all run to rediscover her songbook. Haunting and true, this song starts a story and leaves it up to listeners to finish it.
4.
Never Catch Me — Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar
Flying Lotus’ composition, Kendrick Lamar’s bars, and Hiro Murai’s game changing video make Never Catch Me a musical touchstone. Together they conjur a supernatural defiance of death in which the dead can dance and experience true freedom unseen among the living.
5.
Zora — Jamila Woods
In this song inspired by the great anthropologist and author Zora Neale Hurston, Jamila Woods affirms the inability to confine Black consciousness. The undefinable fact of Blackness signifies a limitlessness in which nothing can be completely known. Buoyant and unapologetic, Woods’ song celebrates the depths of Black presence.
6.
Be So Glad — Jaimeo Brown
Percussionist and composer Jaimeo Brown reimagines the prison chain gang work song “I Be So Glad When the Sun Goes Down” performed by Ed Lewis & Prisoners. Originally sung by enslaved Africans in America, Brown infuses it with elegant, rebellious, and spiritual dimensions while maintaining the relentless, driving repetition that gives it enduring power.