Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Gabriel Teodros, host of Early on KEXP, is "The Black Renaissance (feat. Black Thought)" by Sa-Roc, from the 2020 album The Sharecropper's Daughter on Rhymesayers.
The first time Sa-Roc met Black Thought of The Roots, he was pulling her up on stage at the 2014 A3C Hip Hop Festival in front of tens of thousands of people.
“We had a mutual friend who’s close to him and had been sharing music or whatever," the Atlanta-based MC remembered to HipHopDX. "He was anticipating meeting us there and Thought, being the Hip Hop icon who went through the fire and came up doing cyphers and freestyles, he completely believed in making sure an MC is up to par with going through that cold trial-by-fire thing.
The impromptu performance set the stage for the collaboration on today's Song of the Day. She told ABC Australia:
I knew as soon as I started writing this album, I wanted Black Thought to feature and when [producer] Sol Messiah showed me this track, I was like, 'This is the one.' I have such high regard for Black Thought as an MC and how he elevates lyricism to an extent that's really not seen within the mainstream industry. So, we got on the track, we recorded in the studio, and just went crazy: back and forth bar for bar. So, this is lyricism at its finest.
Finding good new music can be a full time job, so let KEXP help! In Our Headphones brings you five song recommendations every Monday, straight from KEXP’s DJs and Music Directors. Join hosts Janice Headley and Isabel Khalili on this never-ending journey of music discovery.
Host Emily Fox and KEXP’s editorial team talk with artists about the stories behind their songs and the experiences that inform their work. Through each conversation, we uncover the humanity behind the music, allowing us to hear it in a whole new way.
