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In the Spring of 1970, armed National Guard fired on protesters at Kent State in Ohio, killing four students. The event sent shockwaves across the country, spurring Neil Young to pen “Ohio,” the “greatest protest record” in American history.
Days later, forgotten in the shadow of Kent State, police killed two black students at Jackson State in Mississippi. The incident spurred The Isley Brothers to record “Ohio/Machine Gun.” Fusing Neil Young with Jimi Hendrix, The Isleys re-framed the narrative of the song around rising racial tensions, bridging the cultural gap between the two songs as a deliberate statement: music was one of the few forces that could bridge the racial divide and bring people together – cultural connective tissue for a divided world.
J.PERIOD is proud to present the next chapter in this historic saga: “SOLDIERS” featuring Dead Prez, Sa-Roc & Maimouna Youssef. Sampling elements of The Isley Brothers’ “Ohio/Machine Gun” over a hard-hitting track featuring Daniel Crawford on drums, “SOLDIERS” re-frames the narrative again for the generation of Ferguson, Flint, Oakland, New Orleans, Sanford, and Charlottesville.
Cover art by Ernesto Yerena.