Turntables is aimed at fighting for voting rights and will feature in new documentary All In: The Fight For Democracy
BY SOPHIE GRIFFITHS, IMAGE VIA INSTAGRAM
Janelle Monáe is back with a brand new single, aimed at fighting for voting rights. The powerful track has been released ahead of its feature in the upcoming Amazon Studios documentary, All In: The Fight For Democracy.
Janelle wrote the track alongside Nathaniel Irvin III, and George A. Peters after “watching and examining” the world over the past few months, determined to “highlight” the work of those fighting for “democracy”.
Turntables comes as Janelle’s first new original music since the release of their third studio album Dirty Computer back in 2018. It sees the singer advocate for voters rights ahead of the upcoming 2020 presidential election in the US.
Speaking about the track on Apple Music, Janelle said: “I, like a lot of people just as humans, especially being black in America, I’ve been experiencing a lot of trauma around seeing black bodies murdered, like humans murdered. I struggle with talking about it because it is like a wound that we’re reopening. We’ve been screaming Black Lives Matter.
“And so I’ve been emotionally debilitated, but I got an opportunity to get back into the studio to talk about or to create lyrics that [doesn’t] keep us reminded of that trauma, but keep us moving forward and remind us that things are changing.
“We are changing things. The tables are turning. The rooster has come home to roost. So this song is capturing direction. And when you think about a record, when you think about a record spinning, when you think about the revolutions per minute, it’s all connected. And that is what this song means.”
Janelle added: “This song doesn’t mean that I’m the leader, that I’m here to tell you what to do, how to fix things. I’m simply watching, examining and wanting to highlight all of the people who are on the front lines, fighting for our democracy, fighting against racial inequalities, fighting against white supremacy, fighting against systemic racism and systemic oppression.
“So this song is to keep us motivated. This song is to lift up and keep us galvanised when we’re fatigued. And this song is really for the people.”
Turntables will feature in Amazon’s All In: The Fight For Democracy documentary, which will premiere on Amazon Prime Video 18 September.
