Jon Batiste has released his third single “CRY” from his forthcoming album WE ARE set for release on March 19th.
“CRY” is an emotional, heart-wrenching song that tells the story about the pain and uncertainty that goes hand in hand with fighting for equality. The song’s organic blend of groove and gospel is also a reclaiming of folk and country as part of the Black musical tradition. Jon Batiste is widely known for his New Orleans lineage, but his family story traces further back to seven generations of farmers from Georgia, before his grandfather moved to Louisiana.
Batiste says of this song, “When we think about folk and country music, we should think about our ancestors more. The ones who have been called into service to give us these sounds and these feelings. The country’s first farmers were indigenous and Black folks.”
Batiste’s highly anticipated, genre-defying album WE ARE (March 19) represents a completely new sonic chapter for Jon Batiste. Inviting some of the most esteemed creative minds to assist in birthing the album, he reached the finish line in the middle of the first wave of the worldwide pandemic and social unrest. The result is a body of work characterized by the consciousness of Marvin Gaye, the grounded optimism of Stevie Wonder, the iconoclasm of Thelonious Monk and the swagger of Mannie Fresh.