Amid a growing movement on both the state and federal level, California is one step closer to restricting the use of rap lyrics as evidence by prosecutors in criminal cases. Introduced by California State Assemblyperson Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, AB 2799 would require judges to query prosecutors on whether introducing lyrics would add racial bias into […]
Jace Allen has simple goals. “I think for us to survive and thrive as a country, we need to not look inward, but outward,” he explains to SPIN. The singer-songwriter, whose new album, Taking Sides, was released on July 21, makes music with a purpose. But this isn’t purpose in the sense of making songs […]
Danielle Ponder grew up in a musical family. Her father, a pastor, has music pouring out of him, singing in church and at home on their piano. She had a family band, formed when she was 16 with her cousins in a house they all lived in together in the suburbs. But 16 was a […]
Maggie Freleng was pushing and practicing social justice before she even knew the concept’s nomenclature. As a child growing up in Long Island, New York, Maggie championed the underdog and spurned the scourge, making sure to step between every bully and their intended target. Years later, when Maggie left Long Island for college in Massachusetts, […]