When They See Us | José James

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We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.

We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

When They See Us

by José James

supported by

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about

I wrote this song with Taali almost one year ago to the day for Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us.” Her powerful drama tells the story of five young men of color wrongfully accused and prosecuted for sexual assault: Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise and Raymond Santana.

In the words of Ava:

Not thugs. Not wilding. Not criminals. Not even the Central Park Five. They are Korey, Antron, Raymond, Yusef, Kevin. They are millions of young people of color who are blamed, judged and accused on sight.

Due to contractual issues with Universal Records the song was not used, but today I’m releasing it to honor the memory and the spirit of George Floyd who was murdered by Minneapolis police in cold blood six blocks away from my childhood home.

100% of all sales and streams from the track will be donated to Black Visions Collective MN.

Donate directly here: www.blackvisionsmn.org

For more information on how to support #BlackLivesMatter visit: blacklivesmatter.com

Written by José James + Talia Billig
Produced by Brian Bender
José James - vocals
Taali - vocals + piano
Recorded by Nolan Thies at The Bunker BK
Cover by Janette Beckman
Video by Taali with photos by Janette Beckman

lyrics

When they see us
Standing on the edge of a knife
Don’t let go
Stand tall

When they see us
Standing on the edge of the night
Let them know
Who we are

We’re walking in the shadows
Of yesterday's injustice
But only when it matters
Do they see us

When they see us
Standing on the side of the right
Then you’ll know
We’ve won

When they see us
Standing in the sun, in the light
Let them know
Darkness is done

We’re walking in the shadows
Of yesterday's injustice
But only when it matters
Do they see us

Through the darkest night
Through the storms that rise
I raise my hands
And lift up my eyes
To a brighter day
To a distant land
Hold my memory
From a boy to man

We’re walking in the shadows
Of yesterday's injustice
But only when it matters
Do they see us

credits

released June 3, 2020
Written by José James and Talia Billig
Recorded by Nolan Thies at The Bunker Studio
Produced by Brian Bender
Mixed by Brian Bender
Mastered by Brian Bender

Copyright Rainbow Blonde Records 2020

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

José James image

José James New York, New York

Jazz singer for the hip-hop generation

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