Alongside everything ugly that happened since George Floyd died in police custody last May in Minneapolis, longtime music collaborators and renowned sidemen Ryan "Rion" Liestman and Michael Bland said they also saw a lot of beauty and hope arise in their hometown. They want to revive those positive vibrations in a new reggae song, featuring an all-star cast of Twin Cities musicians and released this week to mark the start of former officer Derek Chauvin's trial for murder.
As Bland explained it, "We watched our city come together last year, march together and help each other, people of all colors. We want to encourage everyone to continue sticking together — even if [the trial] gets ugly."
The Soul Asylum and Prince/New Power Generation drummer teamed up with the Jonas Brothers band member and former Ry & the Rule frontman to write and record "Enough," a protest song that preaches love and unity. To underline that goal, they brought together a diverse cross-section of local vocalists, including reggae vets Lynval Jackson (International Reggae All-Stars), Wain McFarlane (Ipso Facto), Innocent and Singing Tony along with funk-rocker Mayda and R&B singer Carolyne Naomi.
"We all agree: We've had enough," goes the song's refrain, which is set to images from the 38th and Chicago intersection and various Floyd murals in the music video now taking flight on YouTube.
Other lyrics include, "Free or guilty / It's gonna get filthy / You better believe / Roll up your sleeves," and "We need action now / People won't wait." The singers name-check recent cases of Black people killed by police, including Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor and Philando Castile, asking, "So many gone, how can we fill the void?"
A longtime follower and participant of the Twin Cities reggae scene, Liestman said, "I think this had to be a reggae song. Reggae has always been about social commentary and bringing people together around social injustice. It's message music first and foremost."
He and Bland wrote and recorded "Enough" over the summer and then came up with the idea to enlist the other vocalists — "To exemplify how much these issues cut across race and backgrounds," the drummer said.
However, they intentionally waited to release the song until the murder trial started for Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who pinned the handcuffed Floyd under his knee for around 9 minutes.
"We just knew, looking ahead, that the trial could maybe reignite everything all over again, and we can't have a repeat of all the damage that happened last summer," Bland said. "This is a call for people to think of intelligent, meaningful ways to use their power together and make justice happen."
For now, "Enough" will just exist as a single online, but Liestman and Bland ultimately hope to perform it live with all the participants once COVID rates permit.
"That will be a beautiful moment for a lot of reasons," Liestman said.
Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658
@ChrisRstrib
