The last few days on social media have been very… weird. Particularly with the overwhelming amount of wealthy celebrities who have come online to sing to us on their Instagram stories or on Twitter; who have stood on the balconies of their million-dollar homes to… clap(?????) in solidarity; who have asked their followers to donate to links where money is being raised to get hospitals the medical supplies needed to sustain their work in the midst of this pandemic.
It’s weird.
Thankfully, many celebrities have also made bops that we can march to on our way to the guillotine (after giving them the option to redistribute their wealth, of course—word to Britney Spears).
Here is a “playlist” of some of my favorite songs to get hype to in preparation for a protest (many of which were recorded by artists who I have a deep love for).
ALRIGHT BY KENDRICK LAMAR
FREEDOM BY BEYONCÉ FT. KENDRICK LAMAR
A LOT BY 21 SAVAGE
MI GENTE BY J BALVIN FT. WILLY WILLIAM AND BEYONCÉ
STORY OF O.J. BY JAY-Z
DNA BY KENDRICK LAMAR
DON’T TOUCH MY HAIR BY SOLANGE
FUBU BY SOLANGE
RECOMMENDED: A DANCE PLAYLIST OF BOPS TO GET YOU THROUGH SELF-QUARANTINE
WE THE PEOPLE… BY A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
FORMATION BY BEYONCÉ
HELL YOU TALMBOUT BY JANELLE MONÁE
BE FREE BY J COLE
Da'Shaun Harrison
Da’Shaun Harrison is a Black trans theorist and storyteller in Atlanta, GA. Harrison has risen to national acclaim with the release of their debut title, Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness—published in August 2021. Belly of the Beast won the 2022 Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction, and since then, Harrison has been the recipient of ProjectHEAL’s “Inspire Award” and was listed as a Forbes 30 under 30 (Media) honoree. Harrison lectures on Blackness, fatness, gender, and their intersections. Harrison currently serves as Editor-at-Large at Scalawag Magazine and is the co-host of the podcast “Unsolicited: Fatties Talk Back.” Between the years 2019 and 2021, Harrison served as Associate Editor — and later as Managing Editor — of Wear Your Voice Magazine.