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Louisville R&B Group Tackles Racial Injustice In 'Take a Knee'

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Lamont Conner, a member of the four-person Louisville R&B group WOKE, said the purpose of their latest single, “Take a Knee” is to try to bring what he sees as a “broken world, a hurting world, together again.”

“This isn’t just for the injustices of one particular group or race of people,” Conner said. “We decided to write ‘Take a Knee’ based on the injustices of all races of people.”

WOKE, which stands for “Working On Keeping Equality,” is made up of Lamont Connor, James Crawford, Dejuan Rainey and Darius Towns. They performed off and on for many years under a different name and decided several years ago to come back together and focus on “music that has a message.”

“Take A Knee” will be released for download Feb. 3. Conner said it’s inspired by the 2016 NFL game during which quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the National Anthem in protest of racial injustice and inequality.

This isn’t the first time WOKE has talked about social justice issues in their music. In their song, “Gone Away,” the group sang about gun violence and how it impacts families. It was written in 1995 for murder victim Dion Crawford who was the older brother of WOKE group member James Crawford.

“Take a Knee” was produced by Louisville’s Sonablast Records, which by way of disclosure, was founded by Louisville Public Media board member Gill Holland.

More information about WOKE can be found here.

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