Among the many artists, who've musically responded to US police quickly drawing their guns on their African American citizens, is a song with a voice from music history. In the late 80s, a young new singer dropped his debut album, to introduce us to the hard line and took over the music world. He was tipped to be the next Prince or Michael Jackson, but - the occasional hit aside - he pretty much disappeared. His name was Terence Trent D'Arby, with the emphasis on "was", because nowadays, he listens to the name Sananda Maitreya. Legend has it that fame didn't sit well with him. His public image and the person within him conflicted. Along with dealing with record companies and music executives on a creative level, it all became too much to handle. So, one day he had enough. He changed everything, including his name in 2001. He has always continued to make music though, which he mainly sells directly to his fans through his website. His music is truly his. He usually writes, arranges, produces and performs the songs himself. Every once in a while, he’ll end up on a compilation album, which is also the case with his latest song “I Wanna Breathe”.
It’s a song that responds to recent events in the States. The video shows three generations of black men looking at the footage of the fatal shootings and letting their emotions of disbelieve, anger, sadness and despair show. Later, people from all ethnic backgrounds support their need to breathe. The video ends with a personal message, in writing, from Sananda Maitreya
Once the song starts, it's very surprising that not much sounds different from his Terence Trent d'Arby days. Sure, the music and vocals are a little less polished, which I think is a good choice to preserve rawness there due to the topic of the song, but I had actually expected something really experimental, which it’s surprisingly not.
I think, in the end, he actually got the best deal. He's able to make music, without compromise and without the craziness of “the business”.
