Rap Against Junta jumpstarts 2022 with “Blood,” a poignant collaboration calling for peace and justice in Myanmar.
The Myanmar hip hop collective brings together G, Pi Ya, TPx, Cinrungtoi fa, N Min, Y Cube, Classicz, 3Kao, and Moe Gyi who represent eight Burmese states—Kachin, Karenni, Karen, Chin, Burma, Mon, Arakan, and Shan. The nearly 6-minute collaborative track is touted to be the first in hip hop and Myanmar history, which also incorporates ethnic instruments into the production.
According to a press statement, the track aims to show the artists’ “united perseverance” despite being “diverse for 70 years.” Rap Against Junta also hopes that “Blood” will inspire to continue to “fight for justice and freedom from fear.” The single is now out on music platforms and an accompanying music video is set to arrive on January 22.
“Together, we strike against the genocidal-terrorist military regime that has oppressed us all. Our country’s civil war has lasted longer than any other in the world. We’ve been fighting the same army for 70 years—they divided us and conquered [us]. We sibling-like ethnic groups lost connection with each other, a family broken by abuse and neglect. Our generation will change that forever,” the group wrote.
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They also noted how music helps facilitate their message. “The military coup on Feb 1, 2021 opened our eyes: all Myanmar’s ethnicities now fight as one, together. Peace and freedom have never sprouted under the military regime, we must not be silent. Listening to each other’s words and music reunites us to feel the same hearts beating, each embracing freedom from fear. We fight together to see justice for all.”
Rap Against Junta Drops ‘DICKCOUNCIL’: ‘Myanmar Hip Hop Will Never Be Silenced’
The ongoing heavy fighting between the Myanmar military and resistance fighters since last year has resulted in thousands of killed and displaced civilians in the region, with more people fleeing from terror every day. The United Nations noted in a new report that the crisis is “projected to have driven almost half the population into poverty heading into 2022, wiping out the impressive gains made since 2005.” To put into perspective, the analysis projects “14.4 million people will need aid in some form, approximately a quarter of the population. The number includes 6.9 million men, 7.5 million women, and five million children.”
“Blood” is the follow-up to last year’s DICKCOUNCIL album, which hopes to “use hip hop as a powerful communication tool and weapon to stand against a suppressive and bloodthirsty junta.”
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Stream “Blood” on Bandcamp and YouTube:
