To find out a little bit more about why Black people are so connected to Paramore and why the band brings them so much joy, I decided to chat to a few members of the worldwide community known as ParamoreHive.
For 24 year-old Habiba, Paramore was one of the few bands she could be open about listening to due to her upbringing. With rock music historically being linked to Satanism and devil worship, having a rock band that had Christian values allowed some young Black people to connect. I wanted to be part of something. I liked so much stuff from all genres, so liking Paramore made me give less of a shit about boxes.
Alegria feels that their prominence on the soundtrack of cinematic masterpiece, Twilight , marked a particular turning point for the band along with their Black audience.
Tribalism really started to disintegrate. Black people created rock music, it's a fact. Black people created bluegrass and rock and roll way before Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Black people created punk—the band Death was way before The Ramones. Same with Bad Brains. If you think about it, the wool has been pulled over our eyes.
This is our shit. Very naturally, that's why we return to it. It's ours, it will always be ours. And this is why it's been so satisfying recently, as black fans have been vocal about their love for Paramore and black artists have been reclaiming their musical legacy.
We would listen to Janet Jackson in the car; she was a huge Black Sabbath fan. My grandfather was super into Motown and Elvis. Listening back to the way that I wrote with Paramore — actually writing with the guys was a shock to my system because it was very much not what I had grown up listening to, but it was the way I was expressing myself naturally through rock music. The same with TLC and Aaliyah. I know you shared out a playlist of references for the album.
Her music is so good. What was incredible to me was introducing her records to Taylor. So it was this full-circle moment where our two worlds were colliding again for the first time in a long time.
This time around, we were referencing snare sounds from a Solange record, whereas with Paramore we were referencing Jimmy Eat World, Failure, and other punk bands. It was satisfying to me as an artist to get to explore other sonic realms. I grew up eating a lot of Cajun food in Mississippi from recipes that my Louisiana family would pass down to my mom. Every morning when I would wake up I had grits with a slice of Kraft cheese and a pat of butter and salt pepper. Right now, politically, so much is happening in the South.
What has this moment of uprising brought up for you? Growing up in the south, politics is a point of tension — it scared me. And just to speak on the grief. To wake up somedays just in a rage, and understand there are ways I can channel that for change. I really just wanted to release one song in the beginning. It was less intimidating to me to break things up.
In the second part, I liken it to a bit more internal work.
0コメント