J. Period + Jesse Williams Team Up To "Rise Up" For Civil Rights
Photo of J Period taken by Elliott Ashby for Okayplayer.
It has happened people… the world will never be the same again. Or better yet, it has returned to the world of old. Either way, the people are not going to take an administration let by a human orange rind lying down. With that said, J. PERIOD and actor / activist Jesse Williams have partnered up with artists from The Playlist Retreat to create a new wave of music for a new movement titled RISE UP! Music Inspired by the EPIX Original Series, America Divided.
The first single, “Miranda,” features a powerful benediction from Jesse Williams, while Rhymefest and Xzibit ask more than necessary questions about the state of our union over solid J. PERIOD production. “We’re pointing fingers at each other and we’re missing the point,” Rhymefest kicks off on the verse. Elsewhere on RISE UP! are pairings such as Black Thought, Pharoahe Monch, Posdnous, DJ Jazzy Jeff with the likes of Joss Stone, Aloe Blacc, Raheem DeVaughn and Eric Roberson. Maimouna Youssef, Maségo, Stro Elliot, Tall Black Guy and more are also included in this must-have project.
The docu-series, executive produced by Norman Lear, Shonda Rhimes and Common, America Divided will feature celebrity hosts such as America Ferreira, Rosario Dawson, Amy Poehler and Zack Galifianakis investigating a wide range of social justice issues including criminal justice, immigration, housing and voting rights, and education. “In the process of progress, we are reclaiming our best practices, heroes and nomenclature. I am a proud producer of the America Divided dock-series and honored to work alongside producer and mixtape master, J. PERIOD, in creating a soul-sonic experience that is both homage and inspiration to the critical thinking that undergirds liberation movements of past, present and future.”
ICYMI, J. PERIOD’s last project, The Hamilton Mixtape, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums charts, so we should be pressed to make this one do the same.
Listen to “Miranda,” and be sure to lock your channel changers to EPIX when America Divided airs sometime this year.