The Denver hip hop group Flobots wants protesters out on Colorado streets to sing more, so a few years ago they started writing chants and teaching them to people who were demonstrating for social justice and equality. Those songs helped inspire a new album, NOENEMIES, set for release May 5.
Jamie Laurie, a.k.a. Jonny 5, says "it’s about building a more vibrant movement culture that’s built on songs that are common." He and fellow emcee Stephen Brackett, known as Brer Rabbit, were inspired by the civil rights era when, Laurie says, "they had a language of spirituals and the Southern Black church that [activists] could draw on ... and we thought, 'How do we do that today?' "
Laurie and Brackett spoke with Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner to preview the album. This month, Flobots will perform songs from NOENEMIES with the Denver dance company Wonderbound.
