If there's something purely positive to say about the social unrest of the past year, as the deaths of unarmed black men (and women) at the hands of police have spurred communities into action as part of the #BlackLivesMatter movement , it's that the bona fide protest song -- a form that hadn't appeared in mainstream pop music for a couple of decades at least -- has roared back to life.
D'Angelo, Kendrick Lamar, Lauryn Hill, Pussy Riot, and others all released songs rife with the anger and heartache and hope that sprung forth from the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Freddie Gray.
And while being the patron saint of all things purple and funky takes up most of his time, it isn't surprising that Prince has had a thing or two to say, as well. He held rallies for peace in Baltimore following Gray's death, released a single with Eryn Allen Kane titled "Baltimore," and now, in the new video for that track, calls pointedly for justice with images from the city's protests and facts about the killings. The video ends on a hopeful quote from the Purple one himself: "The system is broken. It’s going to take the young people to fix it this time. We need new ideas, new life."
Check it out below.
