Whatever Happens Whatever Happened

Ibeyi featuring Kamasi Washington “Deathless”

One of the weird things about 2017 is that the overwhelming majority of the music that’s been coming out was actually made in the year before, and so we’re only starting to hear songs written in the wake of last year’s election. Ibeyi’s new record is one of the records made in the immediate aftermath of that, and “Deathless” is a song they made with the intention of giving people strength. It’s not entirely about that – the verses reflect on an encounter with a racist cop in France – but that story just gives personal weight and resonance to the defiance of the chorus. The music is tense but groovy, with Kasami Washington’s emotive sax responding to the intense feeling of the vocal and allowing a bit of free movement in a track otherwise dominated by a heavy, rigid rhythm.

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