I am excited to announce the release of the first single "Giants" from my upcoming album Giants: Stories of Existence, Resilience, & Resistance. 

Lyrics

When the giants march on we will feel their wrath 
A wrath born from the ageless hammer of destruction 
We will hear the rivers roar we will know their pain 
Pain endured from generation to generation 
So let them run free for their time is here and now 
They will rise like the sun shedding light for all to see 
For the world has no respect for the unseen 
Only marked bills with heroes of destruction 

We will keep marching with the Giants 
We will keep fighting for the fallen 

There's no rhyme or reason we reside in prison 
Pain and suffering all we know is a life of enslavement 
Militarized policing tell me what's the difference 
"Raise your hands! You're about to turn cold on the pavement" 
Helpless amidst confusion we're force fed illusion 
Are we free or subservient to a life of consumption 
Some reap a meager pittance others bask in abundance 
Foolish perdition as the world begs for deliverance 

We will keep marching with the Giants 
We will keep fighting for the fallen

Credits
Released September 14, 2018 
Composers: Kojo Damptey, Chris Bruder, Nasr Beny 
Performers: Kojo Easy Damptey & Nasr Beny 
Back up Vocals: Emily Kemp 
Electric Piano & Organ: Chris Bruder 
Guitar: Dan Willer 
Guitar: Scott McIntosh 
Bass: Tom Altobelli 
Drums: Jordan Snider 
Baritone: Francis Smith 
Trumpet: Jordan Tunney 
Trombone: Aidian Sibley 
Tenor Sax: Aaron Bowers 

Recorded & Mixed by Michael Keire at Threshold Recording Studios 
Mastered by Joao Carvalho 
Released by Celestial Voodoo

Track Listing
-0.1. Turtle Island
0.0 Intro
1.0 Lonely Road feat Nasr Beny
2.0 Dark Stars
3.0 Reflections
4.0 What Do You Want ? feat Canadian Winter & Nasr Beny
4.5 Amanfo
5.0 Giants feat Mutombo Da Poet (Acoustic Version)
6.0 Giants feat Nasr Beny (Full Band Version)
6.5 It's Over
7.0 Home (Y3n Ko Fie) feat Lady Jay
8.0 Democrazy feat Wan Lov The Kubolor & Chukky Ibe
9.0 The World Is Deceiving feat Mother Tareka & Kimmortal
10.0 Life
11.0 If I Should Tell You

I am happy to let everyone know I will be releasing a new tune in two months. The song is called Giants  featuring Mutombo Da Poet. 
I wrote this song in Ghana in 2014. Since I wrote it back home I wanted to record it and collaborate with musicians back home as well. So I hooked up with Mutombo Da Poet and Flynt Agyei Boateng in the studio and we made it happen. 
The song is a decolonial process building on what Prof Kwame Gyekye calls Critical Sankofaism. He explains critical sankofaism as approaching one’s traditional past with critical eyes to select those elements that would be of use to one’s present life and could also be helpful to building a better life in future.
For Africans & the African diaspora we tend to forget our past due to the ever penetrating tentacles of colonization & neo-colonialism. As such it is important to reach back into our rich cultures and tradition to remember the GIANTS that made us who we are. It is in that journey backwards that can inspire us to conquer colonization and create a better future for the continent and its peoples in proper Pan-African fashion.  
​

What Do You Want? Feat Canadian Winter & Nasr Beny will be out on 3rd July 2017. The song is dedicated to Patrice Lumumba, he was a Congolese independence leader and the first democratically elected prime minister of Congo. He was assassinated on 17th January, 1961 by firing squad with the help of the Belgium, USA, British and Canadian government.
 
As Canada celebrates its 150 years, it is worthwhile to examine how Canada has contributed to various colonization projects around the world and here on Turtle Island with respect to the treatment of indigenous people, communities & nations.
 
What Do You Want? Is a song about asking ourselves what kind of society do we want, what kind of world do we want and most importantly what kind of country do we want. As we look forward to another 150 years will we be able to reimagine how we accommodate different perspectives or will we continue on the path of cultural colonization.
 
What Do You Want? Is one of the songs you can expect off my sophomore album “Giants: Stories of Existence, Resilience & Resistance” which will be released next year.

​

GIANTS feat Nasr Beny & Mutombo Da Poet

When the giants march on we will feel their wrath.
A wrath born from the ageless hammer of destruction.
We will hear the river's roar we will know their pain.
Pain endured from generation to generation.
So let them run free for their time is here and now.
They will rise like the sun shedding light for all.
For the world has no respect for the unseen.
Only marked bills with heroes of destruction

We will keep marching with the giants.
We will keep fighting for the fallen.

There's no rhyme or reason we reside in prison.
Pain and suffering all we know is a life of enslavement
Militarized policemen  tell me what's the difference
"Raise your hands! You're about to turn cold on the pavement"
Helpless amidst confusion we're force fed illusion
Are we free or subservient to a life of consumption
Some reap a meagre pittance others bask in abundance
Foolish perdition as the world begs for deliverance 

We will keep marching with the giants.
We will keep fighting for the fallen.

​GIANTS is a decolonizing creative process aimed at using music to capture the myriad experiences of people of color. The album builds on the tradition of resistance and resilience that people of color around the world have shown in the fight to combat the ill effects of colonization. Examples include but not limited to the Idle No More movement, Black Lives Matter Movement, Standing Rock Movement and the South African University protests. 

The beauty of GIANTS is the use of different genres of music such as HighLife Music from Ghana, Hip-Hop, Soul, R&B to create a cohesive sound I call Afro-Soul. The album features musicians from around the world such as Ghanaian spoken word artist Mutombo Da Poet, Canadian Hip-Hop group Canadian Winter, Vancouver Hip-Hop artist K!mmortal and poets from the Hamilton Youth Slam and Syrian-born rapper Mother Tareka and more.