With a guest list on their new album that includes the names Angela Davis, Jeff Rosenstock, of Montreal, and Dope KNife, Bellringer could only be the work of Linqua Franqa, a rapper/activist rooted both in their online community and their native Athens, Georgia music scene. With the album’s release date still a few months out, Mariah Parker is jacking up the anticipation for the release by sharing its title track, featuring Parker’s powerful lyrics—in this case honing in on the LA riots—matched by booming hip-hop production.
“‘Bellringer’ uplifts Latasha Harlins, whose death is oft forgotten in discussion of the the LA riots, and reminds us of the many ways trauma surfaces,” Parker shares of the single, which features Jeff Rosenstock on backing vocals and percussion. “It retells the moments before Latasha's death from her own perspective and describes the way people wile out in response to loss, especially in hip-hop—with booze, blunts, wanton antagonism, and defensively puffing up one's chest.”
The hard-hitting rap is paired with a Nolan Huber-Rhoades–directed visual illustrating scenes from the early-’90s tensions intermixed with in-your-face clips of Parker performing the track in front of strobing lights. See for yourself below.
