To whom much is given, much will be required. Chicago-based artist and activist Ric Wilson knows this all too well. Since bursting onto the music scene in 2019 following rave reviews from live performances, Wilson has made it his mission to use his art as a vessel to shed light on the injustices minorities face in the United States.
From his testimony at the United Nations charging the Chicago Police Department with genocide and torture actions on its Black and brown youth to his community organizing efforts in the years following, Wilson’s unique funk/disco-infused Hip-Hop has become a rallying cry.
On his latest single, “Pull A James Baldwin” produced by Norbert Bueno, Wilson comes to grips with the idea that maybe you can not dismantle systemic oppression from within. The track inspired by the late multihyphenate James Baldwin expands on the notion that to avoid being silenced as an activist, you must leave your homeland an idea covered intensionally in the award-winning film, I Am Not Your Negro.
While reflecting on this Wilson took to social media to write, “Nina Simone & James Baldwin are two of my favorite artist. This Black History I’m thinking about the black artists who spoke the truth when American guns were pointed at them. The artists who were forced to leave America just so they could be artist, sing or whatever they wanted to without being threatened and looking over their shoulders daily.”
Stream the full track below.
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