Janelle Monáe releases new, star-studded version of ‘Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout)’
The song now features appearances from Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Chlöe x Halle and more
In partnership with the African American Policy Forum, Janelle Monáe has released a new song “Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout),” with some star-studded features.
Back in 2015, while marching in Black Lives Matter protests, singer, actress, and artist Monáe released a song called “Hell You Talmbout,” which honored several Black men and women whose lives were taken too soon from police violence. By listing their names out loud, the song became a rallying cry, with Monáe explaining at the time that she saw the track as “a vessel.”
Now, six years later as the fight for Black lives continues, Monáe has released a new, star-studded version of the song, retitled, “Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout).”
The new version of the stirring song is in partnership with the African American Policy Forum, which hosted the first #SayHerName vigil in Union Square back in 2015. Proceeds from the song benefit the group, and as Vulture reports, founder and professor of the group Kimberlé Crenshaw is a featured vocalist on the track.
Monáe shared in a statement, “This work is too important to do alone and can only be sustained through our collective voices. We take up this call to action as daughters ourselves trying to create a world where stories like these are no longer commonplace. This is a rally cry.”
The featured artists providing vocals on the track outside of Monáe and Crenshaw include: Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Chlöe x Halle, Tierra Whack, Isis V., Zoë Kravitz, Brittany Howard, Asiahn, Mj Rodriguez, Jovian Zayne, Angela Rye, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, and Alicia Garza.
Monáe shared in the caption of her Instagram post promoting the song, “Please join us as we honor the 61 Black girls and women whose lives mattered and should be with us today. Black women and girls are often left out of the conversation when it comes to police brutality. Today we say their names. We tell their stories.” She went on to tag all of the featured vocalists on the track.
Find the list of names honored in the moving song, provided by Vulture, below:
Rekia Boyd, Latasha Nicole Walton, Atatiana Jefferson, Kendra James, Priscilla Slater, Yuvette Henderson, Renee Davis, Kyam Livingston, Cynthia Fields, Kindra Chapman, India Kager, Shelly Frey, LaJuana Phillips, Kisha Michael, Dannette Daniels, Crystal Ragland, Pamela Turner, Latandra Ellington, Crystalline Barnes, Korryn Gaines, Michelle Cusseaux, India Cummings, Sandra Bland, Symone Marshall, Yvette Smith, Margaret Mitchell, Mya Hall, Tyisha Miller, Alesia Thomas, Kayla Moore, Alberta Spruill, Breonna Taylor, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Nizah Morris, LaTanya Haggerty, Layleen Polanco, Shereese Francis, Sheneque Proctor, April Webster, Kathryn Johnston, Michelle Shirley, India Beaty, Tanisha Anderson, Sandy Guardiola, Shukri Ali Said, Duanna Johnson, Eleanor Bumpurs, Jessica Williams, Sarah Riggins, Charleena Lyles, Sharmel Edwards, Deborah Danner, Joyce Curnell, Natasha McKenna, Darnesha Harris, Pearlie Golden, Miriam Carey, and Tarika Wilson.
For more on the African American Policy Forum and #SayHerName, head to the official website, here.
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