One side effect of this crazy year has been watching as pop music has directly tackled more serious subject matter than ever before. For EDM vocalist Kaleena Zanders, her own personal experiences with police brutality inspired by first solo single “Reload”, and the powerful animated video that accompanies it.
“Red and blue chasing / got my heart racing. Ma’am will you step out of the car.” An opening line that likely resonates with so many black people who have found themselves the victims of police, visualized with colorful psychedelic versions of Kaleena facing an officer. Yet in “Reload”, the lines are delivered over a funky disco beat that turns this timely anthem into a danceable bop.
“Living in the land of free / bet you got your gun on me (you can’t get us all)” The lines like this keep coming, building to an empowering chorus that manages to give hope despite dark subject matter. As the video shows us scenes of officers holding guns and being transformed into innocents, and face-offs between cops and protestors, the power in the juxtaposition between the subject matter and how its represented continues to impress.
Watch this fantastic video above, and stream the track here:
