Four years after his last album "The Story of Sonny Boy Slim," Gary Clark Jr comes back with his third album titled "This Land". By releasing the title track, the Austin- Blues rockstar gives us a taste of what to expect from the album which will be released by Warner Bros. Record on March 1 2019.
The video shows a young boy grappling with the haunting symbols of racism in America like the Confederate flag. It has been shot by the award-winning multi-talented, Savanah Leaf, who shot it near Clark's home in Rural Texas. Clark worked alone with a co-producer and engineer at Austin's Arlyn Studios studios for months, to make an epic LP that will have stripped-down acoustic country blues, Prince-like epics, dub-reggae jams and more. "I wanted every note and lyric to mean something," Clark said in an exclusive upcoming interview for Rolling Stones. "There was a lot of trial and error, a lot of experimentation."
"I basically just told her where I came from and she made a beautiful short film out of it," Clark says. "Shout out to her, much love. I hope the video and the song together accomplish acceptance and moving forward — feed the babies, teach the babies to love," Clark expressed.
The song is very situational and does not shy away from that with lyrics that go, "50 acres with a Model A/Right in the middle of Trump country." The lyrics are very close to Clark's heart. And this is the first time Clark is being vocal through his art. "I think it's only right at this point in time, if you have a microphone louder than others, to speak out about that anger," he said in the interview. "I haven't been through shit compared to my people. But if I can do anything with my opportunity, and say thank you to Dr. Martin Luther King for sacrificing your life so that I can have a microphone … that's the least I can do," Clark added.
Clark grew up in Texas, known notoriously for the racial discrimination that non-white people face on a regular basis. And the recent debate on 'Who are Americans?" and Trump's emergency wall has left a deep impact in the minds of American society. The chorus of the song, "N**** run, n***** run/Go back where you come from," is something that almost every non-white American has grown up, including Gary Clark Jr. himself.
After "This is America" by Childish Gambino, that talked about the atrocities that were committed by the Colonials on the natives and the exploitation of the black community, "This is Land," is another important piece that talks about the hostilities of white supremacists. With so many artists coming out and talking about the issues, it is an indication of the dark hour that the nation is going through in Trump's era.
