Sacramento hip hop artist and activist POOR Majesty previews his forthcoming album “Dreamer” with his new single “S.O.S.,” about police violence against unarmed people of color. He tells CapRadio’s Nick Brunner that “Writing ‘S.O.S.’ wasn't necessarily trying to convince anybody of anything … I'm just trying to convey is the heartache and the pain. I wrote it because I was heartbroken about Philando Castile.”

POOR Majesty reached out to his friends Mahtie Bush and N.O.M.E. Nomadd to contribute feature performances to the track. “I wanted Mahtie to be on the track because when we are out there on the frontlines protesting, Mahtie's always had some to say,” POOR Majesty explains. “I knew he would do it justice and speak his mind and not be afraid.”

For Mahtie Bush, the subject matter was ripe for lyrical exploration. “It's not really like rocket science,” Bush says. “It's been happening forever and now we can go to YouTube and see Oscar Grant get shot on his back.”

N.O.M.E. Nomadd says that putting his feelings into “S.O.S.” was a more potent way to speak out against casual racism in daily life, which is inextricably intertwined with racism in the criminal justice system. “They're expecting us to just act out in anger,” N.O.M.E. says, “because that's the perception that society has given us for so long … they think we're all just "angry black men" and stuff like that. No that's not true.”

CapRadio’s Nick Brunner recorded this interview with POOR Majesty, Mahtie Bush and N.O.M.E. Nomadd earlier this month.

You can see POOR Majesty perform at the Davis Music Fest on June 22 at Pence Gallery.  The album release party for “Dreamer” will be on June 29 at GroundSwell Art in Sacramento

NOME Nomadd’s new album will be released on 5ohm Records later this year.

Mahtie Bush is performing shows across the west coast on his “Mahtie Bush For Mayor 2019” Tour, and you can find ticket information on his events page.