Mor Loud & Rahj Mason: How Many Shots

While many people tend to label others, it goes to show you that a lot of ignorance is not going away any time soon. However, there are people who work tirelessly to extinguish it. Enter Rahj Mason and Mor Loud, the Brooklyn spiritual brothers who have teamed up to release this massive rock tune that asks the serious question about police brutality in its title; "How Many Shots?"

Artists from all walks of life and cultural backgrounds have unified in the past and there are those presently who continue to unify and use music and their art as a tool to awaken the consciousness of the people to help bring about more unity and change. Support for artists like Rahj and Mor, who also encourage people to love, is very important. Not only are they composing battle cries to fight oppression, they are asking for basic life fundamentals for the masses to respect and honor one another. Change has come.

Jneiro Jarel: Camouflaged Thieves

A major salute to my homie Jneiro Jarel as he kicks off 2015 with a single that's as aggressive as the soldiers and police officers in this military state these governments are trying to force us into. "Camouflaged Thieves" is a fusion of tribal drumming, a funky bassline, and the rhythmic styling of garage music. This is the first single taken from his upcoming Indio EP that will be dropping soon. Get the vocal and instrumental by way of Bandcamp.

Ali Shaheed Muhammad: CPR (feat. JaPoet, David Luke, Merna)

For quite some time, I have been waiting on an uptempo Hip-Hop track similar to how it was done in days past. Thanks to Ali Shaheed Muhammad, formerly of A Tribe Called Quest, a new single was released last month covering police brutality in the wake of the death of Eric Garner. On hand to help deliver the message is JaPoet, a visual artist and rapper from Tennessee, David Luke, a rapper from Georgia who co-produced this track with Muhammad, and Palestinian singer Merna, formerly known as Ayah.

You can get this track as a free download via the Ali Shaheed Muhammad website. The official music video below is a good pictorial narrative of recent events and protests around the country.

MoonGina: Silent Night (No Justice, No Peace)

As the situation with police brutality is getting worse, more and more people are getting outraged and in the streets protesting. In turn, many artists are having their say through their creations. One of those is MoonGina, a singer-songwriter who also dubs herself as a daydreamer, has released a heartfelt cry on her Soundcloud page. This is another one of those tunes that you would have to FEEL for yourself. Thanks to Jimetta Rose for the heads up! #blacklivesmatter

DJ Keva: Triumph & Struggle: A Black Sonic Narrative

Hats off to DJ Keva for curating this wonderful mixture of sound bytes during this time of turmoil. Here stateside, we have been seeing the mass killings of people at the hands of police that seem to be making headlines on a weekly basis. More often, it's news of a black men and boys who are the fallen. We are living in a dark period and I hope this helps to brighten things in some form. Keep on pushing for justice!

Be sure to visit ART ON WAX, sign up for her mailing list and show your support. A lot of gems are posted on her blog.

Triumph & Struggle: A Black Sonic Narrative by Art On Wax on Mixcloud

Pete Rock Calls For JUSTICE

A call for justice was sent out by Pete Rock after NYC police swarmed the Monumental Album Release Party on Tuesday night, June 28th. Video footage was shot by concertgoers of the police beating and/or arresting some who attended the show, including Pete's step-daughter. To read more about this story visit; DJ Pete Rock: "We Deserve Justice".

The following is a brief interview of Pete Rock speaking on the incident that occurred early Wednesday morning.