We’re excited to announce that in conjunction with St. Louis-based record label FarFetched, FOR has released an album of music by Bayard Rustin Fellow Rev. Osagyefo Sekou and his band.
Listen to the first song on the album, “We Comin,” for free — and pre-order the full album.
Released on the day we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King and the legacy of music and church on black civil liberties, “We Comin” is a rousing call to action, and comes as activists across the country honor the real legacy of struggle and resistance that Dr. King embodied with #ReclaimMLK protests, teach-ins, direct actions, shut-downs and marches.
Based on chants and freedom hymns, “We Comin” is a declaration of independence and an offering to those who continue to toil for justice and equality. It’s a celebration of self-determination and deep abiding love. The full album, “The Revolution Has Come,” will be released on Jan. 31, on iTunes and all major media outlets.
You can pre-order the full album now.
Recorded in St. Louis, Missouri, late last year, more than 30 producers, musicians, engineers and vocalists from around the country worked on “The Revolution Has Come.” Released by St. Louis-based record label FarFetched, in collaboration with FOR and Eloveate, the album is a rich offering of songs that shine brightly today and will stand the test of time.
The nine-track project calls on gospel, soul, funk and gutbucket blues to create this tapestry of sound. The first single, “We Comin,” features the eight-piece Saint Boogie Brass Band. In addition, harmonica, rock guitar and a B3 Hammond organ carry the listener along a powerful, redemptive homage to a history of survival and a future of restoration and triumph.
Rev. Sekou & the Holy Ghost
The sound of Rev. Sekou & the Holy Ghost is a symphony of gospel, blues, soul, funk and freedom songs laced with sanctified blues and lyrics that range from religious to risqué. The group’s members, Rev. Osagyefo Sekou and Jay-Marie Hill, met at the 2015 Movement for Black Lives gathering, when Rev. Sekou washed pepper spray off Jay-Marie’s face — in the aftermath of activists demanding Cleveland Police de-arrest a wrongly detained 14-year-old boy back into his mother’s custody. Unexpectedly reuniting just weeks later in Oakland, California, they penned the entire “The Revolution Has Come” album in less than a week.
Writer, producer and lead vocalist, Rev. Sekou is a third generation Pentecostal preacher and long-time organizer, author and activist, grounded in the tradition of the Arkansas Delta Blues. His grandfather played piano in juke joints for the legends including B.B. King, Albert King, and Louis Jordan.
Singer-songwriter-instrumentalist Jay-Marie Hill (she/they) is a Black y Boricua, genderQueer artist, musician, activist and renegade. Born and raised in the Oakland Bay Area, Jay-Marie is a teacher, mentor, arts administrator, artist, musician and provocateur working to deconstruct, liberate and recreate.
#ReclaimMLK
Rev. Sekou and FOR-USA are announcing this new album on Martin Luther King Day as a part of the #ReclaimMLKevents going on this holiday weekend.
On Saturday, #DivestSaturday marked when neighbors were drawing attention to institutions and systems that have failed and continue to hurt black people. Yesterday, many communities had marches and rallies specifically connecting the legacy of Dr. King to the Black Lives Matter movement.
And on Martin Luther King Day today, #InvestMonday shines a light on the resilient and strategic ways we can build our community, protect one another, and inspire our people. We see this album as a piece of that project.
For live updates, be sure to follow The Movement for Black Lives and Black Youth Project 100 on Facebook, and @fergusonaction on Twitter!
