Strange Fruit (Performed by Tracye Eileen) Dir. King Hammond, Prod. Nino Bankzz
My heart is broken over George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many countless others. Music has always been a healer and motivating force in my life, as well as during our history of struggle in America from slavery to this day, from Billie Holiday to Nina Simone and many other artists. In honoring our struggle, our ancestors and our fallen, I licensed and recorded Strange Fruit. My keyboard player Tom Viatsas joins me.We must continue to tell our stories, our history. Many thanks to the director @KingHammond_ and producer @Nino_Bankzz.
This song was recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939, written by Abel Meeropol and published in 1937. It protested American racism, particularly the lynching of black Americans. Lynchings had reached a peak in the Southern United States at the turn of the century, and the great majority of victims were black. The song was again famously covered by Nina Simone in 1965. It has been called "a declaration of war" and "the beginning of the civil rights movement”. The song was included in the list of Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.
