Anderson .Paak heads into Juneteenth with the video for his latest track, “Lockdown.”
The Oxnard native confirmed the release on Thursday afternoon, sharing its black-and-white cover art in which he is seen donning a face mask while holding a protest sign that reads: “The People Are Rising.”
The art also features the names of Black people who were unjustly killed in recent history; these included victims like Ahmaud Abrery, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Trayvon Martin, and George Floyd, whose May 25 police killing ignited worldwide protests.
The track finds .Paak reflecting on the current state of the country, touching on everything from the outcries against racial injustice to the surging unemployment rate due to the coronavirus lockdowns.
“Stayin' quiet when they killin' n***as, but you speak loud,” he raps. “… Sicker than the COVID, how they did him on the ground/Speakin' of the COVID, is it still goin' around?/Oh, won't you tell me 'bout the lotion' what's that really all about?/'Cause they throw away Black lives like paper towels/Plus unemployment rate, what, forty million now?”
You can listen to “Lockdown” now on all major streaming platforms and check out its official video above.
