Jim Crow: The Musical
Add 2
2019
Chicago emcee Add 2 set out to examine Black life in America with his album Jim Crow: The Musical. He utilizes skits and interludes to further hammer home the point between songs like the smooth Nappy Hair or the slow, lamenting Willie Gets Lynched.
“I wanted to be very intentional about every word, every song, every skit. I wanted to capture my experience of being Black in America. Honestly, I wanted to capture the joy, pain, triumph, anger, truth and trauma,” Add 2 said.
He would listen to speeches from Malcolm X, Fred Hampton, Minister Louis Farrakhan, interviews with Fannie Lou Hamer and James Baldwin, films from Spike Lee, and had them on repeat.
“I made sure my message wouldn’t be lost. I wanted to celebrate us.”
Stand-Out Tracks
Git Your Hand Out My Pocket
3 Fifs
Back in the Day
Hashtag