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Anthony Hamilton

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How Anthony Hamilton Is Using His Voice To Create Change For The Black Community

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"In my opinion, non-black people should speak out against what’s wrong and against police brutality and all the hurt that this country has endured by the hands of the old and new oppressors," the R&B great tells the Recording Academy
Ogden Payne
GRAMMYs
Jun 8, 2020 - 11:17 am

Anthony Hamilton's voice has always been used as an instrument for change. Throughout his nearly two-decade career, his lyrics have served as the soundtrack behind some of the most intense emotions people around the world experience daily.

But with the recent tragedy of George Floyd's death and the resurgence of conversations surrounding police brutality, Hamilton is using his influence to shed light on the harsh realities behind some of America's most unfathomable injustices.

"What I’m doing to activate and to advocate is using my social platforms and my celebrity to bring awareness, to speak up and out about injustice and prejudices that exist, to evoke change in those who may see me as a celebrity but not as black as they see my young brothers and sisters who they gun down," he told the Recording Academy.

Hamilton's words come just weeks after his latest single release—his first in over three years—"Back Together" featuring Rick James. In its purest form, the single is a rhythmic conflation of funk, R&B and hip-hop—some of the most popular genres fueled by black culture.

"I went in with 9th Wonder, someone I wanted to work with for a very long time," Hamilton explained. "We were cooking up and had done about three songs already, and he started playing the 'Fire and Desire' [by Rick James and Teena Marie] sample. I heard that and went in the booth and I just sang the first thing that came out of my mouth."

When asked why he felt his latest record called for a feature from funk icon Rick James, Hamilton said, "Why not? Rick James is one of my favorites. He’s very expressive, very free, very funky. Almost like Prince—they were just funky and they didn’t apologize about it. [James] still sings his behind off."

Collaborating with one of funk's most legendary figures isn’t the first time Hamilton stepped beyond his R&B roots to create timeless music. Even his sophomore effort, Comin’ From Where I’m From, was supported by decorated hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri and his So So Def label, and earned him three of his 17 GRAMMY nominations.

As a songwriter, Hamilton relies on an innate ability to revisit some of the most impactful moments of his life. But during times of intense racial division, he looks to those inside and outside of the music industry for inspiration.

"I pray and collect my thoughts and build with people like David Banner," he said. "[I] listen to [those] like Killer Mike, Angela Rye, and Bakari Sellers to educate myself, then plan a course of action. The music community can use their voices to influence the masses and speak on topics that affect us directly [...] Create content that promotes better thinking and better living."

Though Hamilton’s music has brought people of various races under one roof all across the globe, an immense amount of change is necessary to begin the process of healing and progression. For Hamilton, that change begins with black ownership beyond the traditional mom and pop stores—from land to corporations and major sports teams. He believes change looks like having more opportunities to receive the best education, experiencing true peace of mind no matter where one walks, and applying for a bank loan without being denied despite meeting the qualifications.

The fight for social justice is an ongoing, uphill battle led by past, present and future generations. Whether one is a musician or not, Hamilton encourages all to use their voice to rebel against the racism that has plagued the black community for centuries.

"In my opinion, non-black people should speak out against what’s wrong and against police brutality and all the hurt that this country has endured by the hands of the old and new oppressors."

Want To Support Protesters And Black Lives Matter Groups? Here's How

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Aretha Franklin in 1970

Aretha Franklin in 1970

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From Aretha Franklin To Public Enemy, Here's How Artists Have Amplified Social Justice Movements Through Music

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We also examine powerful protest songs from Mahalia Jackson, Harry Belafonte, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, James Brown and N.W.A
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jul 2, 2020 - 10:39 am

The year 2020, as difficult (and deadly) as its been for so many, has become a moment of reckoning. The nation is facing the shutdown and health crisis of coronavirus, pervasive acts of racist violence against unarmed Black people, and countless injustices for people of color, LGBTQI individuals and women and those within the intersectionality of these identifies. Today, in this climate of social unrest, powerful protest music of the past resonates once again.

As we stand in this pivotal moment, let's look back on some of the songs and moments that defined the civil rights movement and beyond, as Black artists and allies reflected the dire need for justice and inclusive representation, and protestors took their music to new heights.

Mahalia Jackson

Known as the Queen of Gospel, Mahalia Jackson is credited as one of the first artists to take gospel music out of the church. She used her powerful voice to record a massive catalog of religious music during her career, choosing to never dip her toes in secular music. Jackson befriended Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1956 National Baptist Convention and later performed before many of his speeches, in Selma, Montgomery and, most famously, immediately before his famous "I Have A Dream" speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, which she directly inspired.

She was the final musical guest during at the March, singing "How I Got Over," a powerful gospel song, popularized by the Famous Ward Sisters, about overcoming racial injustice. Not only did the song have deep resonance with the Black audience members, it was Jackson herself who moved King to improvise the most famous "dream" passage of his speech. According to King's adviser Clarence Jones, Jackson shouted out; "Tell them about the dream, Martin! Tell them about the dream!" King pushed his notes to the side and Jones told the person next to him, "These people out there, they don't know it, but they're about ready to go to church."

Given its power, Jackson sang the song many times during her career, earning a GRAMMY for Best Soul Gospel Performance at the 1977 GRAMMYs for it.

Did You Know That Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Won A GRAMMY?

Aretha Franklin

18-time GRAMMY winner Aretha Franklin was one of the many successful soul and gospel singers inspired by Jackson and the path she paved, even performing at her funeral in 1972. The Queen of Soul got her start in music singing in her minister father's church. It was there where Franklin was introduced to civil rights activism. While many of her most beloved hits were covers, she had a unique power to reimagine a song all her own and resonate with so many. "Respect," originally recorded by Otis Redding in 1965, is one of these, which became her first No. 1 hit when she released it in 1967. A powerful anthem asking the listener for "a little respect," it became a protest song for both the feminist and civil rights movements of the time. As Pacific Standard states, "it captured a cultural moment Franklin had herself been fighting to achieve."

The outlet also notes that "Chain Of Fools," an original song, followed in 1967 as another feminist anthem, but found new meaning among Black U.S. soldiers fighting "a white man's war" in Vietnam. In 1972, Franklin recorded a rousing rendition of Nina Simone's 1969 civil rights anthem "Young, Gifted and Black," giving her album the same name, a powerful symbol of Black pride. That same year, Franklin later released live gospel album, Amazing Grace, including renditions of "How I Got Over" and "Amazing Grace." "Respect," "Chain Of Fools, "Young, Gifted and Black" and "Amazing Grace" all earned Franklin GRAMMY wins, evident of how deeply they resonated with America.

'Black Gold' At 50: How Nina Simone Refracted The Black Experience Through Reinterpreted Songs

Harry Belafonte

At 93, Jamaican-American actor, singer and activist Harry Belafonte has been a powerful force and barrier-breaker in U.S. culture since the '50s. Inspired by the emerging social justice-minded folk music of the turn of the century, he made it his life mission to "sing the song of anti-racism," as he said in 2017, to use his voice to highlight the music of the oppressed. Seeing Woody Guthrie perform lit this fire within the Harlem-born artist, inspiring him to visit the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. to listen to Alan Lomax's field recordings.

His third album, 1956's Calypso, was led by one of his most beloved songs, "Banana Boat (Day-O)," a call-and-response Jamaican folk song sung by dock workers (he spent part of his childhood living with his grandmother there). His version took the U.S. by storm, hitting No. 5 and inspiring five other artists to cover it, who all earned Top 40 hits in 1957. The album, as its title suggests, was filled with upbeat calypso music, a genre with roots stemming from those enslaved by the 17th century Caribbean slave trade. At a time when Elvis Presley and other White rock artists ruled, Belafonte's Calypso outsold both of his records that year, spending thirty-one weeks on top of the Billboard 200.

Belafonte also became a pivotal member of the civil rights movement, as a close friend of King, performing at many of his events and offering financial support to fund voter-registration drives, Freedom Rides and even the March on Washington. "I was angry when I met [King]. Anger had helped protect me. Martin understood my anger and saw its value. But our cause showed me how to redirect it and to make it productive," Belafonte writes in his 2011 memoir.

Pete Seeger

"For Mr. Seeger, folk music and a sense of community were inseparable, and where he saw a community, he saw the possibility of political action," the New York Times wrote in Pete Seeger's obituary in 2014. "His agenda paralleled the concerns of the American left: He sang for the labor movement in the '40s and '50s, for civil rights marches and anti-Vietnam War rallies in the '60s, and for environmental and antiwar causes in the '70s and beyond."

In the '50s, the folk artist adapted "We Shall Overcome" with several other activist, including Zilphia Horton, who taught an updated version of the gospel spiritual "I'll Overcome" to union organizers. Seeger's version became an important rallying cry of the civil rights movement. Many other activist/artists of the time recorded and sang the powerful song at various events, including Jackson and folk acts Peter, Paul and Mary and Joan Baez, the latter who sang it during the March on Washington.

Seeger always used his music to speak up on the big issues of the time; in 1941 he wrote "Talking Union" with members of The Almanac Singers (both acts recorded it), "an almost literal guide to union-building," as Time put it. During Vietnam and the Cold War, respectively, he released anti-war anthems "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy" (1967) and "Where Have All The Flowers Gone" (1955). The latter has been covered many times over the years by Earth, Wind & Fire, Dolly Parton and more, with folk/pop act Kingston Trio's 1962 version first hitting the mainstream and reaching the Top 40.

Bob Dylan

"How many roads must a man walk down / Before you call him a man?" a 21-year-old Bob Dylan begins on his beloved 1963 song, "Blowin' In The Wind," another anthem of the civil rights movement. It is the opening track of his second album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, which also features "The Death of Emmitt Till," "Oxford Town," "Masters of War" and other explicitly political songs examining injustices of the time.

Like Belafonte, he was inspired by Guthrie's political brand of folk, but it was his then-girlfriend, Suze Rotolo (pictured on The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan album cover), who moved him towards activism and playing political rallies. He wrote "The Death of Emmitt Till" in 1962, about the Black teen that was brutally murdered by White men for alleged whistling at a White woman, shortly before singing it at a fundraiser for the Congress of Racial Equality, which Rotolo was involved with.

During the March on Washington the next year, Dylan performed several songs, including "Only a Pawn in Their Game," which he had recently written about the civil rights activist Medgar Evers killed just months earlier. He also performed the heart-breaking song at a voter registration rally for Black farmers in Mississippi later that year. In January 1964 he would release the track on his next album, another socially conscious project, this one earning a GRAMMY nomination, The Times They Are A-Changin'.

Bob Dylan Announces New Double Album 'Rough And Rowdy Ways,' Releases New Single "False Prophet"

James Brown

In August 1968, a year before Simone released "Young, Gifted & Black" and just four months after King was assassinated, the Godfather of Soul James Brown delivered the funky Black pride anthem "Say It Loud – I'm Black And I'm Proud." As UDiscoverMusic notes, "The tone of the civil-rights movement had so far been one of a request for equality. Brown, however, came out defiant and proud: he isn't asking politely for acceptance; he's totally comfortable in his own skin. The song went to No. 10 on the Billboard [Hot 100] chart and set the blueprint for funk. Like later Stevie Wonder classics of the '70s, it was a political song that also burned up the dancefloor; an unapologetic stormer that would influence generations."

In 2018, on 50 years after the song's release, Randall Kennedy, a Black law professor at Harvard, explained the power of the song in that moment, and today: "It was precisely because of widespread colorism that James Brown's anthem 'Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud' posed a challenge, felt so exhilarating, and resonated so powerfully. It still does. Much has changed over the past half century. But, alas, the need to defend blackness against derision continues."

The iconic song recently saw a massive boost in streaming numbers as part of Spotify's Black Lives Matter playlist.

Black Pride Anthems From Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, 2Pac, James Brown & More See Big Streaming Spikes

N.W.A, Ice Cube & Dr. Dre

When N.W.A released "F*** Tha Police" in 1988, their hometown of Compton, in South Los Angeles, was rife with police brutality and racial profiling. One of the hardcore rap group's most controversial songs, it struck a chord with in their community, as well as with other Black people living in over-policed inner-cities around the country and frustrated youth of all colors. Directly denouncing the police's abuse of power, the song was largely condemned by the mainstream, causing the group to receive a cease-and-desist letter from FBI and to be arrested for playing it at a Detroit show in 1989, as shown in the Straight Outta Compton biopic.

"We had lyrics. That's what we used to combat all the forces that were pushing us from all angles: Whether it was money, gang-banging, crack, LAPD. Everything in the world came after this group," Ice Cube said in an interview. "We changed pop culture on all levels. Not just music. We changed it on TV. In movies. On radio. Everything. Everybody could be themselves. Before N.W.A … you had to pretend to be a good guy."

In 1992, Rodney King was brutally beaten by LAPD officers who were later acquitted, sparking the 1992 Los Angeles uprising. This not only highlighted the truth and urgency of N.W.A's lyrics, it further solidified it as a rallying cry against the daily violence and racism Black people across the country faced. That year, Ice Cube released his third solo album Predator, along with its biggest hit, the laidback "It Was A Good Day." As HuffPost notes, "he raps about how to cherish moments like chilling with your homies to enjoying your mom's food to NOT get harassed by the police." Dr. Dre followed with his 1debut solo album The Chronic in 1994, and on "Lil' Ghetto Boy" he and Snoop Dogg rap about the dark challenges faced by a formerly incarcerated Black man on parole, powerfully sampling Donny Hathaway's 1972 classic "Little Ghetto Boy."

"Fight The Power": 7 Facts Behind Public Enemy's Anthem | GRAMMY Hall Of Fame

Public Enemy

New York political hip-hop outfit Public Enemy originally recorded "Fight The Power" at the request of then-emerging filmmaker Spike Lee, for his 1989 film Do The Right Thing. It plays a prominent role in the poignant film that explores racial tensions in Brooklyn's Bedford-Sty neighborhood, as the only song character Radio Raheem plays from the boombox he proudly carries at all times. As HipHopDX writes, the song is "indisputably a call to action, [as] Chuck [D] commanded people to stand up against systematic oppression." "Elvis was a hero to most / But he never meant sh*t to me you see / Straight up racist that sucker was / Simple and plain. / Mother f*** him and John Wayne / 'Cause I'm Black and I'm proud," Chuck D raps with authority, both calling out White heroes and nodding to a Black hero, the Godfather Of Soul.

The powerful track finds inspiration from both Brown and the Isley Brothers, who released a song called "Fight The Power" in 1975, it also takes direct influence from them. According to Genius, it features around 20 samples, including Brown's "Say It Loud" and "Funky President (People It's Bad)," and interpolates The Isley Brothers' song. "I wanted to have sorta the same theme as the original 'Fight the Power' by the Isley Brothers and fill it in with some kind of modernist views of what our surroundings were at that particular time," Chuck D explained. The music video (watch above) begins with news footage from the March on Washington, followed by Public Enemy organizing their own march and rally in Brooklyn.

The song was released on the film soundtrack and on their 1990 album, Fear Of A Black Planet, on which they also called out racism in Hollywood and in the police on "Burn Hollywood Burn" (featuring Cube and Big Daddy Kane) and "911 Is A Joke," respectively. This summer, Public Enemy returned with the fiery "State Of The Union (STFU)," calling out the rampant racism of the current White House administration.

How Black Trans Artists Are Fighting To Achieve Racial Justice & Amplify Queer Voices

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Black Lives Matter Protest in New York City

Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

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Live To Tape: How To Safely Film Police Misconduct

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As racial justice protests continue to thrive across the country, the Recording Academy has compiled a list of ways to safely and ethically film incidents involving police misconduct
GRAMMYs
Jun 10, 2020 - 1:58 pm

Over the past few weeks, protests have been staged across the nation in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee and many other Black people at the hands of police. Due to increased police presence and the deployment of the National Guard to several major cities, thousands of protesters have been arrested, and many violent incidents involving the police have been filmed and subsequently gone viral. 

Palika Makam, who works at the human rights organization WITNESS as senior U.S. program coordinator, writes in Teen Vogue: "Using the camera in your pocket can be a valuable way to ensure the world bears witness to abusive policing and systemic racism, help hold authorities accountable, and advocate for the real safety of our communities."

As protests continue amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Recording Academy has compiled a list of ways to safely and ethically film incidents involving police misconduct.

Record With The ACLU Mobile Justice App

Depending on which state you live in, you can download the ACLU’s Mobile Justice App (for example, in California, the app is called “Mobile Justice CA”). The ACLU’s app lets you record and report interactions with law enforcement, and all footage and reports submitted are sent immediately to your local ACLU affiliate.

Understand Your Rights

As WITNESS explains on its website, laws around filming authorities vary by country, so it helps to understand your rights before you hit “record.” In the U.S., you have a 1st Amendment right to record law enforcement in public spaces as long as you don’t interfere. Check out these tips from Makam:

  • Whether or not you are interfering is totally up to the police officer in the moment (and later up to a judge or jury), so it’s best to keep at least six feet of distance (or a car’s length) between you and the incident while filming, especially during social distancing.
  • If the police officer tells you to back up, comply with their orders. You can even film your feet as you’re backing up and say aloud, “I’m complying with orders.”
  • If the police officer tells you to stop filming, you can assert your right to film if you feel comfortable doing so.
  • You can stay safe and still film critical footage from a distance, like from a window, balcony, rooftop, or fire escape.

Verify That You Are The One Recording, And Where You Are

WITNESS recommends speaking into the camera to verify that it’s you doing the recording. “Alternately,” they write, “keep a written record with the original video file. If you need to be anonymous for security reasons, use a code name.”

WITNESS also recommends that you document where and when the incident is occurring. “Your media is easier to verify if you capture the date, time and location of your footage. If possible, turn on automatic date, time and GPS location capturing features. Alternately, film newspapers, intersections, street signs and landmarks.”

Prepare Your Device

If your phone does not have a six-digit passcode, it would be wise to set one up—in addition to a touch ID, face ID and/or pattern lock. As Makam writes, “You have a 5th Amendment constitutional right to not give up your cell phone passcode during a legal search. But that right is murkier when it comes to touch ID, face ID, or pattern lock, and courts have ruled both ways in the past. So it’s safest to just stick with a six-digit passcode for now.”

Also, Makam recommends that you set your phone to automatically back itself up to the cloud, be it Dropbox or Google Drive. Therefore if you were to lose or break your device, anything you record won’t be lost.

Know The Right Tools To Bring

WITNESS recommends a checklist of tools for capturing your surroundings, should you be out at a protest: an external microphone to potentially record interviews, extra memory cards, headphones, a tripod, a notebook and pen for recording dates, times and locations, and an extra battery and charger.  

Have Help Readily Available

WITNESS also recommends bringing a partner or friend with you to protests to help keep you safe and watch out for important situations to document. “Memorize emergency contact information, or keep it written in a secure location,” they write on their site. “Use a camera strap or tie your camera to your wrist. Know your equipment. If you can’t run with it, don’t bring it.”

For more information for how to safely and ethically film police misconduct, visit WITNESS’ site, the ACLU or read Makam’s Teen Vogue piece in full. 

Want To Support Protesters And Black Lives Matter Groups? Here’s How

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GRAMMYs

Justin Tranter

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Songwriter Justin Tranter On Pride Anthems, Protesting & Pop Superstardom

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The Los Angeles-based lyricist speaks with the Recording Academy via Zoom about their work on some of 2020’s most popular songs, writing future hits over FaceTime and the importance of activism
Brennan Carley
GRAMMYs
Jun 16, 2020 - 9:00 am

It’s late May, months deep into the country’s extended period of self isolation, but Justin Tranter—coming to me live via Zoom from their Hollywood home—says they’ve just written one of the best songs of their career. Considering that the veteran songwriter has helped pen some of the biggest hits of the past decade—including Justin Bieber’s "Sorry," Imagine Dragons' "Believer" and Selena Gomez’s 2019 chart-topper "Lose You To Love Me"—those words carry real, certifiable weight.

But it’s not hard to believe them when you look at Tranter's track record—just ask Britney Spears, Fall Out Boy, Halsey, Bebe Rexha, Nick Jonas, Cardi B, Gwen Stefani and Janelle Monáe what they think about their GRAMMY-nominated collaborator, a writer whose lyrics are not easily quantifiable beyond, simply, singular and necessary. And it’s equally easy to believe Tranter when they say they’ve actually been artistically thriving lately—"I know that saying that comes from an extreme place of privilege," they’re quick to note—as they enjoy the fruits of time, creativity and the ability to (for once) not overwork themselves.

Beyond their prestigious, prolific songwriting career, Tranter spends much of their time advocating for others. They're a vocal champion for the LGBTQIA+ community, including their continued work with singer Shea Diamond (their Emmy-contending song "I Am America" soundtracks HBO's "We're Here," which was just picked up for a second season) and their spot on the board of GLAAD. Just last year, Tranter received the ACLU of Southern California's Bill of Rights Award. "Justin Tranter has not only redefined popular music through their work with some of the biggest artists on the planet, but has redefined what it means to be an advocate through music," the organization wrote. "As an activist, I wanted the ACLU Bill of Rights Award, and as a songwriter, I want Song of the Year," Tranter says now with a grin.

They may not be far off. Their work with fellow songwriter Julia Michaels on Selena Gomez’s most recent album, Rare, carries on a fruitful partnership that began with 2015’s Revival. In the last year alone, Tranter has racked up credits on Dua Lipa’s exceptionally well-received sophomore album, Future Nostalgia ("Boys Will Be Boys"), Kesha’s High Road, Camila Cabello’s Romance and Lady Gaga’s long-awaited return to dance-pop, Chromatica ("911" and "Alice")—the latter of whom they’ve known as friends for decades, and even previously opened for on tour with their band Semi Precious Weapons.

Over the course of an hour, Tranter spoke with the Recording Academy about their banner year, songwriting in the time of COVID-19, the importance of intersectionality and protest in Pride’s history and future and more.

Hi Justin!

[noticing my Selena Gomez "Bad Liar" poster behind me] I've never felt more welcome in a Zoom in my life.

How has work been for you now that you’re homebound? I’m sure historically you’ve done some of it remotely anyway.

Exactly. The people that I write with a lot, we're able to figure out ways to do stuff virtually. I'm very heavily involved in the [upcoming] Bebe Rexha album, who's so amazing and such an underrated talent. She sings her ass off. She writes her ass off. And I think on this album the world is finally gonna really see the Bebe that we all know. And since me and Bebe are so close, and most of the songs are done, it’s just doing little tweaks here and there. That’s easy to do.

This week was the first week that I actually had some really successful cowrites over FaceTime. I've had to minimize the amount of people in a session, because us pop queens, we love to have five people in a room. I needed to be like, "OK, someone send us a track and then me and the other songwriter will just write to your track. I can’t have you on FaceTime while we do this, it’s too much."

The Zoom thing is great for conversations, but it has the mute feature, which is so helpful for conversations but not really helpful when you’re trying to hear music. I’m figuring it out, but it just started to click the last couple of days. My thing was: I’ll just work more than anybody, and that’s how I’ll survive in this business. I definitely just said yes to literally everything… why did I say yes to everything? [Laughs.]

When we entered this period of social distancing a few months ago, did you already have your spring and summer mostly booked?

My schedule is always booked three months out, for the most part. Of course stuff changes because artists have to cancel, but I was pretty much booked through June when this started.

It’s a bummer, but also I try to find the positive in everything. One of the main positives for us super activist radical-type people: we all knew capitalism was a shit show, but this has really just been like… "OK… so you think this is working? Because our essential workers don’t make a living wage, so if this is capitalism’s plan, I think it’s pretty clear now this is the wrong plan."

So much of your career is focused on activism: you’re a GLAAD board member, you’re so supportive of LGBTQIA+ artists and writers and talent behind the scenes. What does Pride look like in 2020 when we can’t actually be together?

My definition of what Pride means—I can’t impose this on anybody else—is to just live your truth at all times. Celebrate your truth. But fight for those in our community that are less fortunate, that are less privileged, that are still being marginalized in many ways. Obviously, Pride started as a protest, and we always have to remember that energy.

I love that Pride has become a celebration, because a celebration of our truth is so important. But we always have to keep in mind the protest part of it. I think that we can do that virtually. It may not feel as crazy, and the celebration part might feel different, and the protest part might not have that community energy where you can literally smell the sweat and you can hear the screams. But I think we can still do that.

One of my favorite artists that I love to work with is a woman named Shea Diamond, a trans singer-songwriter who’s one of the best talents of our time. She makes all her money during Pride season. There are so many amazing people in this world for whom Pride is the time that they actually get hired and celebrated enough that someone cuts them a f**king check.

Obviously we need to be supporting black trans talent all year round. And it’s amazing that there is this season where you know you are getting f**king paid, but now that season is gone for her. A lot of our artistic community survive off of Pride season. Having in-person Pride disappear in that way is really sad, but I think in terms of the celebrations and protests, we can get the job done online.

You've been vocal on social media about the epidemic of anti-Black police brutality, and ensuing protests, in America. How best can we show up as allies in this moment?

The best way to always be a good ally is to listen and support. Seek out leaders of the BLM movement on social media and listen to everything they are saying and support it. Support it with your voice, with your time, and with your wallet if possible. Also look at your own life, and places where you can make change. How are you hiring at your company? How are you talking to racist family members? Are you spending money at black-owned businesses? Oh, and f**king vote. 

So many members of our LGBTQIA+ community have wisely advised pivoting our Pride efforts this year to supporting the BIPOC communities in America. As someone with extensive advocacy work, in what ways would you advise people looking to help?

Since this is the GRAMMYs, let’s focus on music. Stream black LGBTQ artists. Buy their merch. Share their songs and videos on your socials. Book them and pay them for gigs even if they are virtual. Shea Diamond’s music has always been speaking about what the whole world is finally waking up to in the past few weeks and deserves a million streams a day. VINCINT’s voice, passion and musicality is at the highest level and deserves to be heard on repeat. serpentwithfeet speaks to my soul in ways I never imagined—I’m sure the music will speak to everyone’s soul if they listen. 

You worked with Shea Diamond on the theme song for the new HBO show We’re Here, "I Am America." How did that opportunity come along?

The two creators of the show, Steve Warren and Johnnie Ingram, saw her perform "American Pie" and fell in love and couldn’t believe her talent, her lyricism, her voice, everything. Then, through the magic of the internet, they found out that we worked together. They were like, “Oh my god, the two of you have to write a song for this show.”

We watched the show and me and Shea were actually sitting in this very room, on that couch right there, and I was like, "It still needs to feel like this is your song." We definitely say "we’re here" like four or five different times in the song. "But to make it feel believable, it still needs to feel like your f**king song. If you, Shea Diamond, were gonna write a Pride anthem, what could you say that nobody else could say?” And she was like, "I don’t know… I am America?" I was like, "Welp! Song’s written, bitch! We can go home!"

You had another banner moment just a few months ago with Selena Gomez’s Rare, which found you reuniting with someone whose recent musical career carries so much of your DNA in it. What is it about her that makes you want to keep going back?

First and foremost, she’s a great person. She couldn’t be sweeter. She couldn’t be more honest. I love my job, and there are people that I work with who I make amazing music with, together, and Selena’s one of those people. But she’s also a real friend.

I got the call that I was gonna receive the ACLU Bill of Rights award on the way to the studio to work with her. I was telling her about it because I was excited, and she was like, "Is there anything I can do to help? Do you have someone to present you with the award yet? I would love to do that." So much of my fundraising and advocacy involves having to ask celebrities awkward questions. She’s just one of those people I don’t have to ask. She just was like, "Well I’ll be there. Fierce! What’re we wearing?"

Creatively, what me, Selena, and Julia [Michaels] have together is just so, so, so special. My first hit was Fall Out Boy’s "Centuries," but my first pop hits were all with Selena, which opened the pop doors for me. What me, Julia, and Selena did together has changed my life, time and time again. I’ve been so blessed to have so many songs connect, but only two that’ve gone No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and one of those was Selena.

And she's so honest in the studio. She's like, "Here’s my whole life and here’s my whole feelings, because I trust you with them. Let’s try to make a song." It’s just too fun. She's the best.

A partnership like that that can be so rare in creative industries. So often those turn out to be, no malice intended, work-for-hire deals. Yours, though, feels like an equal playing field.

It’s so equal and so collaborative. Also, she’s such a great storyteller on the microphone. I think what really sets her apart is she has unbelievable taste, and she’s not afraid to make decisions. She’s like, "'Bad Liar' this is the coolest song ever, this is my single."

Everyone loved "Good For You." She was the one who was like, "This is the first single, everyone please stop talking. This is the song. Thank you!" We are living in a singles era. I think it’s starting to get a little different, because streaming’s leveled the playing field, but we’re still in a singles game. So pop stars can get really nervous about what songs should come first. Selena knows what’s cool, and she knows what she wants to do, and isn’t really worried about whether that is the biggest hit or not. What she’s worried about is: does it tell the story she wants to tell? And because she knows what story she wants to tell, she makes the decision. That is such a priceless gift in any creative industry. Working with her is a dream.

What is it about Lady Gaga, who you just worked with on Chromatica, that checks those same boxes for you?

One listen to "Bad Romance" and not a person alive can deny that Gaga is one of the best songwriters of our time, with one of the clearest perspectives of our time. She checks all the boxes—always has, always will. Having "Alice" and "911" be fan favorites is such an unbelievable, full-circle moment. Seeing the fans that used to tweet my band [Semi Precious Weapons] in 2010 be so excited that we worked on these songs together in 2020 is really special. 

I'm sure you saw last month the #JusticeForGlory campaign that launched Britney Spears' most recent album—on which you cowrote several songs—to the top of the iTunes charts worldwide. What was it like seeing such a masterpiece finally be so publicly warmly regarded?

It’s a f**king trip, I tell you. I love that woman so much. I love her as a fan. I love her as a collaborator. I love her as a vocalist. I knew this was happening because the Britney fandom was letting me know. But obviously Julia [Michaels], having sung hit songs, her social media is way f**king bigger, so she was not aware. She sent me a screenshot of iTunes, and the "Slumber Party" video was either No. 1 or No. 2 and she was like, "Hey, um, what the f**k is going on with ‘Slumber Party’? I’m not complaining, but what is happening?" I was like, "Yeah there’s been this whole campaign..." [Laughs hysterically.]

I would kick myself if I didn’t ask you about my favorite song on Glory, "Do You Wanna Come Over?" What do you remember about recording that one with her?

Me, Julia, and Mattman & Robin are all signed with Warner Chappell for our publishing. My now business partner Katie Vinten dreamed up this whole amazing [writing] camp in Vegas, and we went. We got invited to see Britney’s show, so we all went.

The next morning, it was Julia’s birthday and she had an early flight, so we had to write quickly so she could pack and get out of there. We wrote "Do You Wanna Come Over?" after seeing her show and being so inspired by it, and what worked in the show and what it needed and what it didn’t. We called Britney’s team and had them come over immediately to listen to it, and then they played it for her and she loved it. Her next day off that she could get back to L.A., we went and recorded it.

That was the first time that we had heard her sing where we were in the room, in the studio. In the most polite way, Britney asked me and Julia to leave because we were freaking out. We were just like, "Oh my god, she sounds so good, that just comes out of her face. She doesn’t put that tone on, that’s just her tone. She just does that." We were literally losing our f**king minds. She was like, "Hey y’all, I don’t want to be rude but… I need to focus. Thank you for the support, but I can’t sing like this." I was like, "Oh, yeah, of course you can’t. No one can sing like that!" [Laughs.]

Putting aside the current pandemic, what does a dream session look like for you?

What I actually have learned from this pandemic is: I’m finding real joy in making every syllable count. As someone who’s mainly a lyricist, that’s what I wanna do now, every day. I don’t have to write every lyric! If the artist is amazing at lyrics, great, but I wanna make sure every fucking syllable counts, and not take for granted the fact that people might listen. I wanna tell that story the best way possible.

That is my new dream, to just creatively really challenge myself. I’m fortunate enough that I’ve had all the different kinds of hits somebody can have. I thought I wanted to just have hits forever and ever, but I’m learning that actually I just want to push myself as a songwriter and as a lyricist. I wanna just really figure out how I can still be excited about this. I find a lot of joy in it now. I feel like a whole new era is about to start.

Shea Diamond Sings "Don't Shoot" For Special Pride Month Edition Of Press Play

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Michael "Wanz" Wansley

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"Equality Is More Than Just A Word": Michael "Wanz" Wansley On How The Music Industry Can Effect Real Change

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The Recording Academy checked in with the "Thrift Shop" singer and Pacific Northwest chapter member to get his thoughts on the current situation, what change looks like and how the music industry at large can contribute
GRAMMYs
Jun 15, 2020 - 12:45 pm

Many might recognize singer/songwriter/rapper Michael Wansley—a.k.a. "Wanz" or "TeeWanz"—as the vocals on the hook of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 2012 smash "Thrift Shop," for which the trio won two GRAMMYs for "Best Rap Performance" and "Best Rap Song." But the performer and Recording Academy Pacific Northwest Chapter member has been in the game since the '80s, having formed cover troupe Boys Will Be Boys and moving on to pick up the bass in Seattle acts The Rangehoods and Lifering. 

Now, with Black Lives Matter protests being staged across the nation in response to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee and many other Black people at the hands of police, the Recording Academy checked in with Wanz to get his thoughts on the current situation, what change looks like and how the music industry at large can contribute.

How would you describe our current situation? 

As a older Black man, I'm caught in between the reminders of the past and the promise and optimism of today and the future.

How did we get here?

"We" got here through faith and perseverance. Believing in change, having faith in the changing hearts and minds of those becoming aware of injustice and prejudice on many levels. From Trayvon Martin to George Floyd— [it] has been a journey of discovery for many.

What does change look like?

Change or evolution? I prefer evolution from an older perspective to a newer one driven by the progression of Black People never backing down from their truth. Equality is more than just a word.

What are you doing to activate/advocate?

I am sharing my experiences and memories from 1967-1972 when this country lost MLK and Bobby Kennedy. There are many parallels between then and now for me. The biggest difference, as with the Vietnam War, has been televised displays questioning the perception of equality. I point to the horror of the eight minutes and 46 seconds that George Floyd lost his life and the manner in which that life was taken is the same as the lynchings and assassinations of old.

How are you coping?

Mostly, I'm reflecting. Thinking. Admiring those who feel they must take to the streets.

I remember crying with my father as we watched Obama's inauguration, I wish he and many in my family were still alive to see the evolution taking place before my eyes. I'm also trying very hard to be patient with those who still do not see or connect the injustices of today as an extension of prejudices of the past. Black History is undervalued in the educational system. The events of today will expand the educational perspectives of tomorrow and hopefully continue the positive evolution of American Society.

How can the music community at large contribute?

Remind the community of when music spoke to social and political issues. Popular music in the late '60s and early '70s dealt with prejudice, war, politics, social change—the music community needs to rediscover its gift and power to inspire. Raps by LL Cool J and Nick Cannon are examples of how music artists can stir the emotional core of almost anyone! The music industry as a whole needs to de-emphasize monetary importance and encourage using our gifts to empower and inspire fan bases.

In your opinion, what should non-Black people be doing to support the Black community?

Ask questions honestly and without political agenda. Then, listen. After the listening, people can decide for themselves what action or inaction to take, but without the transfer of accurate information, advancing positive evolution doesn't happen as fast.

Want To Support Protesters And Black Lives Matter Groups? Here’s How

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