“I spoke briefly during the podcast on the outro of the Shabazz Palaces track “Swerve”, which repeats a simple phrase (“Black is you/ Black is me/ Black is us/ Black is free”) over hand drums and lo-fi electronics. I mentioned at the time how I felt uncomfortable listening in, but I couldn’t adequately articulate the hows or whys of that feeling. Obviously the issue is complex, so no hundred-word blurb will encapsulate the whole thing, but I think in taking time to reflect I’ve found a key point or two that illuminates my position.

The crux of the thing, I think, is that in listening to and empathizing with this simple yet profound sentimient, I feel guilty of a particular kind of cultural tourism. While I agree with the principles of solidarity and freedom and activism within the black community, I’m agreeing with them by myself, while listening to a mere piece of pop music. My position is one similar to people in the 60s, from the comfort of their living room agreeing with the position that African-Americans should vote, but doing nothing to move that agenda forward.

That’s a big idea that encompasses a lot of moral issues: Do you need to be an activist to legitimately claim partnership with a movement? Can white people pay anything more than lip service to issues of race, even if they are actively participating in the issues? What’s interesting about “Swerve” and Black Up as a whole is that it doesn’t wallow in these issues, but touches on them in simple ways that engender these responses. It’s a testament to the quality of these tracks that we pull so much from them, even if given only a skeletal rendering.” - Chris Bosman (@racecarbrown)