The collective Music with a Message is like what’d happen if you took conscious R&B, soul and hip-hop and mixed in a healthy dose of spirituality and hopes for a better day. At least, that’s the vibe I’ve gotten from the group during the few songs I’ve checked out from them. Their latest, “Mother’s Cry,” speaks on a topic that many of us, unfortunately, know all too well: gun violence and innocent people being gunned down because they were in the wrong place at the absolute wrong time. The vibe of “Cry” is a mix between conscious neo-soul and gospel, which adds to the oomph the lyrics have from a “please stop the violence” standpoint. The song is powerful in its own right. When you add the visuals, centered around the murders of three Black and Brown teenagers, you’re given a song that has so much to say and articulates it all well.

The emotional visuals and the song’s overall story and message end with some sobering statistics on gun violence I don’t think I need to tell you this, but gun violence runs rampant in America. This is not a race issue, nor even a class issue. It’s an issue of people having wide access to guns (by legitimate and shady means) and thinking they’ve got a right to take someone’s life. The thing is, and this is a terrible thing to even say, many shooters miss their actual targets and end up destroying the life/the lives of an innocent person/an innocent group of people. Additionally, and this is even more sobering and damning to America’s warped perception of guns, the 2020s have seen (per research done by Everytown) an average of over 600 mass shootings a year. Pew Research indicates that, in 2021, there were 48,830 deaths by gun (including death by suicide). It’s a tragic truth about America’s collective love and/or misuse of guns.

Stop the violence, y’all. There is absolutely no need for all of this bloodshed and murder just because of a petty argument that went way too far. There are far better ways to discuss/solve problems and concerns than taking the life of someone you’ve got strife with, someone completely unrelated to your situation, or even oneself. For me, I don’t think guns should be banned. Regulated better with harder-to-crack/harder-to-leave-open gun safes, yes, but not outright banned. That said, guns should only be used to protect in a literal life-or-death situation–not just because you’re mad and your ego’s bruised or what have you.

Check out this powerful song below and remember to support dope music in all its forms.