SeeMeNot releases her debut mixtape dedicated to Black Lives Matter

Canadian artist SeeMeNot released her debut mixtape ‘Long Overdue: The Sound of a Revolution’ on her Soundcloud this week. The aim of the mixtape is to bring the revolutionary purpose back to house music, and ‘Long Overdue’ is dedicated to the black Lives Matter movement.

Produced in collaboration with producer and DJ Oliver Baptiste, it features SeeMeNot, aka Renee Thompson, singing a cappella over a house mix by Baptiste, along with various vocal snippets. These include an extract from a speech made by Tamika Mallory at a protest for George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, and an excerpt from educator Jane Elliott’s ‘Race, Religion, Education’. Elliott originated the blue eyes/brown eyes experiment to demonstrate implicit racial bias in children.

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As a Black woman, the mixtape and words themselves are deeply personal to Thompson. Formerly a model, Thompson appeared in a documentary The Colour of Beauty, which highlighted the structural racism affecting Black models in the fashion industry.

‘Long Overdue’ precedes the release of the first singles from SeeMeNot, which will land in September.

Listen to ‘Long Overdue’ and check out the full tracklist and credits below.

Tracklist:

1 A CHILDHOOD (a capella intro)

Performed by: SeeMeNot

Original lyrics and music: Ray Charles

Excerpt: Tamika Mallory “State of Emergency Speech” at the George Floyd presser in Minneapolis, May 29th 2020

2 INVISIBLE ME

Performed by: SeeMeNot

Lyrics Written by: Renee Thompson

Original Music: Muyé by Keinemusik (Rampa, Adam Port, &ME)

Excerpt: Denzel Washington speaks to Jimmy Carter on playing Malcom X (1992 Spike lee Film)

3 OMG

Performed by: SeeMeNot

Lyrics written by: Renee Thompson

Original Music: Nobody Cares (Original Mix) by Kek’Star

Excerpt: Renee Thompson (SeeMeNot) “We are Tired For All Of Us” soundbite

4 BORDERLINE

Performed by SeeMeNot

Written by Renee Thompson, Alberto Cohen

Produced by Alberto Cohen

Excerpt: Renee Thompson (SeeMeNot) “Our Backs Turned” soundbite

5 RISEN

Performed by: SeeMeNot

Lyrics Written by: Renee Thompson

Original Music: Heart Of The Earth by Budda Sage, Epic Rhythm

Excerpt: Anthony “Kemis” Lawrence “Cut From Steel”

Excerpt: Jane Elliott “Race, Religion, Education”

6 SET FREE

Performed by: SeeMeNot

Lyrics written by: Renee Thompson

Original Music: Ray by Avoure

Excerpt: Kale Nelson poem performance of “I’m Tired”

Jemima Skala is Mixmag’s Weekend Editor. Follow her on Twitter