Between claims that Russia interfered with the 2016 U.S. election, black and brown people getting shot-and-killed and countless sexual assault victims voicing out, it seems that every other day there’s a new story that causes outrage and fear to incite protest.
While there’s been an ongoing argument whether or not protest music is dead or not, Agency is hoping to prove that it’s far from not dead in their album, RESIST.
The album kicks off with Martin Luther King Jr.’s last speech “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” before mixing in police sirens which lead to the upbeat opener “What’s Going On (Right Now).” In the track, Agency asks the eponymous question and questions whether he can “take it” or “make it.”
RESIST continues with other snippets of prominent speeches such as Lyndon B. Johnson’s Radio and Television Remarks Upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill, a tribute song to Emmett Till and Henry Marrow and covers of Sinead O’Connor’s “Black Boys On Mopeds” and Jimi Hendrix’ “Machine Gun.”
RESIST serves as a follow-up to Agency’s debut album, IDENTITY. Check out their single, “Backwards,” below. The entire album can be found on Spotify.