“The black woman is the most maligned figure in today’s society and I wanted to make something that celebrated her smarts, her sexiness and her magic”
Bloc Party‘s Kele Okereke has released a video for his new solo song ‘Guava Rubicon’. You can listen to the track and watch the new video below.
Described as “an ode to the black women of London”, the track is the third to be taken from Okereke’s upcoming album ‘2042’ following on from ‘Jungle Bunny’ and ‘Between Me and My Maker.’ ‘2042’ is set for release on November 8.
Speaking about the new track, Okereke told the Fader: “I named this song ‘Guava Rubicon’ after my favourite soft drink but this song is a love letter to my favourite type of girls in the world; the black girls of London. The Black woman is the most maligned figure in today’s society and I wanted to make something that celebrated her smarts, her sexiness and her magic.”
He continued: “This video will always be beautiful for me as its simply two woman of colour who are in love, no tricks, no gimmicks, just love. Sadly this is a dynamic that I rarely see in represented in popular culture, so I wanted to represent as best I could.” You can watch the new video below.
Speaking about his upcoming new album to NME recently, Okereke explained how it had been inspired by the current state of race inequalities across the world.
“The political backdrop that we’re experiencing right now is quite frightening to me,” Okereke said. “The most powerful man in the world in the US is a racist and, in this country, the Prime Minister is an unapologetic racist too. Brexit has unleashed a wave of nativist patriotism and there’s been an unleashing of ugliness and a coarsening of the rhetoric. I’ve never experienced such widespread public racism and for it to be given the centre ground…
“This idea of a multi-cultural Britain, that there is now somehow resistance towards it, is something that I’ve never experienced in my life [until] now. And it’s not just the politicians and the media. It’s the artists too.”
He went on to say how he’s been “dismayed” by artists who have supported such views and not challenged them.
“I think of the comments that Morrissey recently made and his support for Britain First. It’s clear to me that there is an idea of Britain and Britishness that is supposed to exclude people who are non-white and this idea is becoming more and more prominent.”
