FREE TODAY

by Def Sound

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Watch the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnQY23d9kcw

This is my protest song. This might be the hardest song I've ever made. When I say hard I mean like every bar is made of cement and the beat is Wolverine's skeleton. Also, the topic of liberation is a hard one to wrap our minds around.

'FREE TODAY' is a celebration song just in time for Juneteenth.

I wrote the verse right after watching the first episode of the Tupac documentary 'Dear Mama'. This song is inspired by Tupac and his mother Afeni Shukur's undying love for our people. I had the chorus back in March 2023. The song started as a voice note recording which became the hook you hear at the opening and closing of the song. I was just pacing in an apartment in Brooklyn saying the words that became my mantra for the moment. I sent it directly to Lightfoot who sent the beat with the hook on it the next morning. It's my version of 'Alright'. This is my contribution to the Black Radical canon.

I won't keep it subtle. I fight cuz I love you.

lyrics

[HOOK]
WE FINNA GET FREE TODAY!
x 24

[VERSE]
(I) love all my people but hate our conditions
I thug w/ my people that bang on the system
We born w/ the vision
We live in trenches
The fire we feeling it can't be extinguished

I'm living my dreams today
my spirit is free today
I'm different
new rhythm
its giving
no prisons
this feeling is deep and brave

I am done with opinions
heard all the symptoms
ancestral wisdom
(is how) I'm addressing the sickness

(I’m) deep in my duffle
United in struggle
We dodging these D'evils
My people won’t fumble
We won’t be befuddled
We won’t be bamboozed
I don’t keep it subtle
I fight cuz I love you.

[HOOK/OUTRO]

credits

released June 16, 2023
Written & performed by Emmanuel "Def Sound" Ricketts
Artwork by Alexis Hunley
Song produced by Lightfoot
Mixed & Mastered by Brandon Kilgour

Video shot by Sara Suarez
Directed & edited by Def Sound

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about

Def Sound Los Angeles, California

Def Sound is an Afro-Caribbean transdisciplinary artist. born and based in South Central LA. Def is a non binary Grammy Award considered contemporary hip-hop artist, producer, published poet, and award winning academic. Def is currently teaching Hip Hop Critical Theory & Practice at the California Institute of the Arts. ... more

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