Once in a lifetime a true visionary, educator, artist, activist and leader arrives to change the world. As the pandemic persists into the trenches of an elusive endemic, we collectively have seen the worn and torn threads of our society and civics laid bare in all of its faults, glaring imperfections and regressive backwardness. In the face of corporate hegemony, fascist-capitalist politics wrapped in the flags of the patriarchy, economic disparity, rampant racial inequality, cultural erasure and more ⁠— hopelessness becomes an all too easy escape while hope and action is the hard part and in short supply.

From the zeitgeist of the fever and fight rises the fearless genius and might of Linqua Franqa. A multi-hyphenate with talents more potent than the semantics of a polymath could ever describe; the Athens-Clarke County Commissioner, linguistics PhD candidate and grad school teaching assistant at the University of Georgia is the queer artist and activist the world desperately needs. Following on the heels of their lauded debut Model Minority (of which we had the pleasure of debuting back in 2018) ⁠— Mariah presents the next chapter with the alarm sounding call to consciousness and proactive arms with the release of Bellringer. One of the year’s most monumental albums, it is a necessary interruption from the pratfalls of apathetic complicity to awaken the masses to the systemic issues of reality that are all too self-evident.

The comparative studies sects of pop cultural scholarship and journalism will discuss Linqua Franqa’s critical works in the tradition of contemporaries like Sammus (Dr. Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo), Noname, Boots Riley (The Coup, Sorry to Bother You), Daveed Diggs (Hamilton, clipping.), Meek Mill, et al. Yet as evident from their community involvement (on local and global scales of conscious impact), political/educational acumen and astounding tier of unparalleled artistry ⁠— Mariah Parker is one of the most important cultural figures of our time. Proving this and more is the earth shattering Bellringer, a record striving to save our world from itself that pulls no punches, does not play it safe, goes for for the jugular of the so-called American dream and delivers big with plenty of surprises and cameos along the way.

“Overture” begins the album with a grave warning about the colossal mess we are in like a modern day tragic pop opera with brilliant bars galore, like the memorable 'the system isn't broken no, it's fully operational.' The blistering and fierce title track featuring Jeff Rosenstock rolls it back to 1991, reimagining the killing of Latasha Harlins at a South Central convenient store from the victim's perspective that ponders cycles of trauma, volatile emotions and everything between self-actualization and the abyss of injustice. Parker in a duet with Dope Knife explore autobiographical cycles and spins of angst, mental health battles and the relentless pursuit of peace and balance on the moody Southern bop of "Sometimes I Hate This Town". The big time rhythms and earth rocking percussion is ever-present like the therapeutic "Growth I" sporting production from Stimulator Jones, carrying forward into the intense next chapter of identity and unfettered, unstoppable volition, "Growth II". The big single "Oh Fxck" features contributions from of Montreal's Kevin Barnes, Pip The Pansy and flute supplied by John Swint in a track of jubilation devoted to a higher state of self-love, seeking genuine love and moving out of imposter syndrome. The subject of romance gently rocks on the harmonic lullaby "Lovetap" featuring vocals from Avery Leigh and Four Eyes while, "Necessity" kicks it real with sobering accounts of destitution, desperation in navigating needs, stability and the desires that run wild amid states of subsistence.

The possibilities of parenthood and the trials of personal choice are expressed in stunning seriousness and sincerity on “13 Weeks”, presenting a perspective of reproductive rights that resonates louder than the reactionary claptrap polemics of present day. The current rise of white supremacism and specter of Jim Crow laws in America plays out in the fear stricken ballad "The Tree" backed with electro edges from Kishi Bashi, as Mariah with fellow Athens, GA emcee Wesdaruler remind the world of the inconvenient truth that racism and injustice is institutionalized in every imperial, authoritarian, colonial power worldwide. The tenets of collective bargaining and visions of a house united play out with power and purpose on the capitalist clowning song of protest “Wurk” that forms a lyrical picket line across the storefront and HQs of insidious industries of union busting corporate commerce. With recitations of 'if being radical is grasping from the root, that's just what I'll do,' Parker spells out in explicit terms the cause and symptoms of today's current causes surrounding the Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police movements on "Abolition". The minimalist schoolyard sing-song moves to the rhythm of a liberation march, reciting the names of Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Ahmaud Arbery, honoring their lives as the album concludes with insights from none other than Angela Davis that offers some words of insight and encouragement on the contemporary motions to dismantle our predatory police state.

Without further ado, Mariah Parker presents:

Southern Powerbuilders Mood Board by Linqua Franqa

The South got somethin’ to say, and we say it in many ways—in rap music, yes, but also in watercolor paintings, over bullhorns and in various shades of blush. 

We also walk it like we talk it. In fact, here’s my mood board of visionaries putting in leg work to liberate the Dirty South:

khalid kamau, Mayor of South Fulton

I sloshed champagne on my sweater popping bottles alone in my kitchen the night khalid (he/him) became the next mayor of South Fulton, Georgia. You might think it unthinkable that an openly same-gender-loving democratic socialist could become mayor of the blackest city in America, but you clearly been sleeping on the South. khalid’s unique synthesis of radical vision and hood sense is something I’ve always watched closely. You should take some notes too.

Astra Taylor, Debt Collective co-founder

Astra Taylor (she/her) is the homie. Raised in my found home of Athens, Georgia—just down the street from my fellow commissioner Patrick Davenport, no less—she’s a writer and filmmaker of prolific and seering imagination, from her 2018 documentary, What is Democracy to her latest essay collection, Remake the World… and on and on ad infinitum. As co-founder of the Debt Collective, she’s inspired me to join in envisioning a world where all debts are erased and society transformed such that student loans, predatory mortgages, medical bankruptcy and the like are obsolete. Peep this recent collab she and the collective did with The Intercept:

Bentley Hudgins, Georgia State House Candidate

Bentley Hudgins (they/them) is an Asian-American builder of queer community currently running for a seat in the Georgia State House. Descendant of the mountain rice farmers of Aizu, Japan and Georgia-raised, Bentley’s published original bioethics research on Conversion Therapy Bans for Minors (later used as expert witness at the State Capitol) and led numerous righteous fights, from the restoration of public defender budgets to protecting LGBTQ+ public workers from discrimination. Their eyeliner game is unmatched, too, I might add.

Isaiah Thomas, labor organizer

I first saw Isaiah (he/him) speak at an Amazon union rally that I emceed in Bessemer, Alabama. He’d just left another brutal shift in the warehouse, zipped up on stage like it was nothing and laid the crowd to waste with his moral clarity. Like holy hell, this kid’s twenty years old! At a kickback in Birmingham a few months later, he explained to me how their unionization efforts began in a battle over microwaves in the breakroom and the critical role Egg McMuffins played in building momentum to take on Amazon. Every time I remember his tales I feel renewed resolve to do the small things that might later breed something mammoth. Amazon might have won this round, but I firmly believe Isaiah’s the future of the Southern labor movement.

A.J. Haynes

While most may know her by her jeweled voice as frontwoman for the Seratones, A.J. Haynes is also a reproductive justice gladiator in her work as a counselor at Hope Medical Group, an independent, community-based abortion care provider in Shreveport, Louisiana. I might have fangirled a little too hard when she appeared, fairy-godmother-like, at my South by Southwest day party, going bug-eyed with wonder doesn’t cut it: we gotta put our money where our mouths is. 

Bellringer from Linqua Franqa is available now via Ernest Jenning Recording Co.