A Review of the Black Man In America EP

by Earl Douglas, Jr.

Not content to sit on the sidelines during this hotbed of social and political unrest, singer-songwriter-producer André Cymone goes all-in on this powerful new EP.

The echoes of the recent rash of police shootings of unarmed Black men come out front and center in the title track, which starts with the chant ‘No Justice, No Peace’ and then goes into a mini history of the Black man’s plight: Lynchings, discrimination, deadly encounters with police, etc.  The echoes of the Baltimore and Ferguson protests drive the slinky rocker ‘Hot Night In The Neighborhood’ (which also references The Lovin’ Spoonful’s ‘Summer In The City’). The Dylan-by-way-of-Garland-Jeffreys acoustic ballad ‘Black Lives Matter’ asks more questions than provides answers but it hits hard because they are the right questions being asked. You would think that the last thing needed to close out an EP is another cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, but Cymone totally flips the script and turns into on blast rocker that shows the razor thin difference between funk and rock.

Immediate, urgent and in the moment, Black Man In America manages to hit on themes that are both timely and timeless.

Hear the title track here:

https://soundcloud.com/andrecymone/black-man-in-america

and look for the release on iTunes after 9/30/16

BRC President LaRonda Davis with André Cymone after the 3rd Revolution reunion show at First Avenue, MPLS, 9/3/16