From Kate Richardson of Richlynn Marketing:
ACTIVIST ‘SINGS FEARLESSLY’ ABOUT THE WAR ON YOUNG BLACK MEN
OCTOBER 27, 2014 (Washington, D.C.) – Musical activist and singer/songwriter Robert Miranda has released the music video for Happening Again, a musical lament of the current war on young black men. The video was shot on Washington, D.C.’s U Street (an area coined “Black Broadway” by singer Pearly Bailey and the epicenter of the 1968 Washington, D.C. riots).
“When I saw Michael Brown’s body lying on the street and then learned that the Ferguson police left him in full view for four hours I was disgusted and angry,” Miranda says. “The song was intended to be homage to Michael Brown, but it grew in to a musical survey of the abuse against young black men, which runs from coast to coast – NYC to Oakland.”
[ed] This is a beautifully recorded example of folk music! The guitars and percussion have a fantastic clarity and shimmer and Robert’s baritone voice has the perfect mid-range smoothness to carry his words with power whether he’s whispering or belting it hard. Add an inspiring look at the state of social affairs to the lyric and wow! What a song! – c bret
“The chorus echoes the abuse of Emmett Till,” Miranda continues. Till was a 14-year-old African American teen murdered in 1955 for allegedly flirting with a white woman. “It has been interesting to discover that many young people do not know of Emmet Till and his unfortunate place in Civil Rights history. I am hoping the song will spur folks on read about the subjects, learn of the plight of Emmitt Till, and realize we are still making the same mistakes.”
“As a country, we’ve made a lot of progress on a lot of social issues. But the death of Michael Brown—among many, unnamed others—proves there is still a lot of progress to be made.” Miranda is not releasing a commercial single or video for the track, as his focus is solely on awareness.
Miranda recently released his debut album, Exposed. Co-produced by Miranda, Nate Jolley (of The Jolly Twins Group), and bassist/composer Tyler Sherman, Exposed is a searing statement on the apathy and political issues dividing America. From the opening anti-materialism “Tell Me Now” to the closing petition “Who Will Testify,” Miranda also addresses homelessness (“Logan Park”), gun control (“Circle of Clowns”), and animal abuse (“Addy’s Song”). Already hailed as a voice for change, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr. of the Hip Hop Caucus said of the singer, “Robert Miranda calls us to action with the power of music in support of the ever-increasing challenges against poverty, social inequality, gun control and climate change….reminding us we should act and sing fearlessly.”
