The song now features appearances from Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Chlöe x Halle and more

In partnership with the African American Policy ForumJanelle Monáe has released a new song “Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout),” with some star-studded features.

Back in 2015, while marching in Black Lives Matter protests, singer, actress, and artist Monáe released a song called “Hell You Talmbout,” which honored several Black men and women whose lives were taken too soon from police violence. By listing their names out loud, the song became a rallying cry, with Monáe explaining at the time that she saw the track as “a vessel.”

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Now, six years later as the fight for Black lives continues, Monáe has released a new, star-studded version of the song, retitled, “Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout).”

Janelle Monáe thegrio.com
Janelle Monáe attends the 51st NAACP Image Awards, Presented by BET, at Pasadena Civic Auditorium on February 22, 2020 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

The new version of the stirring song is in partnership with the African American Policy Forum, which hosted the first #SayHerName vigil in Union Square back in 2015. Proceeds from the song benefit the group, and as Vulture reports, founder and professor of the group Kimberlé Crenshaw is a featured vocalist on the track.

Monáe shared in a statement, “This work is too important to do alone and can only be sustained through our collective voices. We take up this call to action as daughters ourselves trying to create a world where stories like these are no longer commonplace. This is a rally cry.”

The featured artists providing vocals on the track outside of Monáe and Crenshaw include: Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Chlöe x Halle, Tierra Whack, Isis V., Zoë Kravitz, Brittany Howard, Asiahn, Mj Rodriguez, Jovian Zayne, Angela Rye, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Brittany Packnett Cunningham, and Alicia Garza.

Source: Janelle Monáe releases new, star-studded version of ‘Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout)’

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