Culture

Honey Dijon Is Ready to “Unleash” A New Juneteenth Banger


 

One year after America’s long-belated summer of “racial reckoning,” we are approaching yet another Juneteenth (June 19), the holiday marking the day Black slaves in Texas were told they had been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. This previously under-celebrated occasion used to come and go with minimal fanfare — outside the South, at least — but this year it will finally be acknowledged as an official federal holiday after the Senate voted 414 to 14 to recognize Juneteenth.

To mark this important moment, legendary Berlin-based DJ and producer Honey Dijon has shared an original song, “Unleash” — a pulsing, political dance track that pays tribute to the late George Floyd.

Released as part of Apple Music’s “Juneteeth: Freedom Songs” playlist, “Unleash” honors Floyd, whose tragic murder at the hands of racist cops catalyzed last year’s nationwide protests against police violence. A pounding, four-on-the-floor track, “Unleash” features vocals by Brooklyn-based musician and performance artist Cor.Ece, who invokes elements of Floyd’s murder — namely, the fact that he died after officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes — to speak truth to power. “Who ain’t trying to breathe?” the performer asks at one point. “I wanna wear your breath on my neck/But I can’t breathe from my knees.”

As is Honey Dijon’s M.O., the song is clearly made with the dance floor in mind. But as is the case with many electronic tracks, “Unleash” is also undeniably political, pointing out the hypocrisy in the recent waves that have been made surrounding racial justice. (“Some lady talking about, ‘Look at all the progress,’” Cor.Ece says at another point. “I said, ‘Ma’am, it’s a mess.’”)

As a Black trans woman who has always put these elements of her identity at the forefront, it’s no surprise that the DJ and producer wanted to use this opportunity to speak up about the still-rampant racism plaguing America.

Rebecca Black

“It’s a metaphor that there is still so much work to be done around the world to ensure that all Black and brown-skin people are free, and not just in the U.S.,” Honey Dijon told Apple Music about the new track. “Slavery may have been abolished in one form, but we are still living in a country where the police have replaced plantation owners and our lives are still not valued in a place that was built on the bodies and souls of Black people.”

Dijon’s track is in good company on Apple Music’s Juneteenth playlist, which includes 20 new songs and covers from a variety of boundary-breaking Black artists. Chloe x Halle, who performed their hit single “Do It” with a number of RuPaul’s Drag Race queens last year, contributed a cover of TLC’s seminal “Waterfalls.” Meanwhile, H.E.R., who recently won an Academy Award for her Judas and the Black Messiah track “Fight For You,” contributed a gentle cover of the late Marvin Gaye’s political What’s Going On track “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler.)”

For those hoping to catch a glimpse of Honey Dijon’s exhilarating track in a live setting, you can watch the globetrotting DJ perform in New York during Pride weekend, where she will be playing three days in a row as part of legendary event producer Ladyfag’s “Pride Weekend with Honey Dijon & Friends.”

The weekend kicks off in Brooklyn, at the borough’s storied Brooklyn Steel venue, where Dijon will DJ on Friday and Saturday night, and will conclude in Manhattan on Sunday, where she will take the stage as part of her classic 12-hour Pride party at Battle Hymn.

“Unleash” is out now on Apple Music.

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