Features : `Pamela Edwards McClafferty and rapper Clash inspire hope and thought about Black history in new single “Shades of Black and White”

Songwriter/producer Pamela Edwards McClafferty sees the importance of Black history in our nation. She has teamed up with rapper, Clash, to release a powerful new single called “Shades of Black and White,” which portrays the struggles and strife endured from the 1600s through today.

The six-minute-track is the first of a series to be released on a monthly basis as part of her newest album titled Now, which was produced along with Mark McClafferty. “Shades of Black and White” is written in the style of poignant poetry with a backdrop of an epic soundscape that gets the listener’s blood pumping and thoughts swirling.

“In our country we seem to be banning books, banning history, forgetting about history,” she said. “But here, all you have to do is listen to the history. If you listen to these six minutes and realize what African Americans have gone through in our country, you understand what extraordinary people African Americans are. They’ve endured the experiences from being taken from their homeland to living through the history of “black and white.”

McClafferty writes, and Clash raps:

“Kidnapped from home,

Chained -shipped unknown

--Two hundred years

of tears

workin ’on land,

whips in hand.

1831 Turner Revolt

Slave Rebellion Bolts

Underground rails

Turning wind to sails

Tubman soldier spy

opening North’s eyes

1857 Dred Scott decision

South rejoi-ces - slaves not cit-i-zens”

“When a thought comes to me, a lot of times the lyric comes first and the music caresses the lyric,” McClafferty said. “I want to say something about Clash- he’s very gifted. He immediately understands the “why” and the “how” of lyrics and how they should be interpreted. Not only is he a rapper, but a singer with a unique sound.  Clash has a lot of talent and a great heart and his gifts shine through in all his art.”

Producer Mark McClafferty said Clash is as interesting an artist, as he is a gentle rapper who brings a certain type of soul to the song. The 24-year-old is multi-talented and worked previously with the producing duo on the musical “Artland” Music by Stanley Clarke and Book & Lyrics by Pamela Edwards McClafferty, which is now finished after being worked on for over a decade.

“When it came to “Shades”, Mark and I were listening to a lot of rappers and Clash came up again,” she said. “He grew up with a single mother and four siblings in Long Beach. He cares about his community, mankind and his art. We all share in the same vision to bring people together.”

Clash works his way through the lyrics with grace, but an overwhelming feel of strength as he raps about the dire history of his race in America. It spans from the Civil War era, touching on the Ku Klux Klan, the Emancipation Proclamation and then up through the beginning of the 20th century for the start of the NAACP. It moves on to the mid-20th century, with Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball, and Rosa Parks taking her seat on the bus. But then, it gets tragic again, with the lyrics saying:

“THEN MARTIN’S GONE!

THE DREAM GONE

THE MOUNTAIN TOP GONE

BOBBY GONE!

COMPASSION GONE

OH, THE MOUNTAIN’S GONE!”

Moving to the 21st century, the track touches on President Barack Obama opening the door and taking two steps forward. But once he left, it seemed like there were two steps back.

“Then a step back with Floyd

How to fill the void?

With Black Lives Matter

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Steps forward

Artists extraordinaire in rarified air

Actors musicians singers

Inspiring more than a wing on a prayer

But there’s still two Steps back

TWO STEPS BACK

She said that it was important to represent what African Americans have endured through music, saying that “it is a shade, and what is everybody really afraid of?”

“When you hit the bottom line, what is everyone afraid of?” McClafferty said. “That is up to each individual to decide.  Clash, Mark and I just hope this history will bring to light what African Americans have gone through and overcome.”

McClafferty is a writer, bestselling author, award winning producer and fashion designer who has a wide array of experience and achievements. She and Producer/Writer Mark McClafferty co-founded Spellbound Pictures, and McClafferty said Now is so important to them as it reflects the times “right now.” The plan is for a new single to be released at the beginning of each month, with each representing a aspect of society to be touched upon musically. Next on the docket is a song called “Reflections,” which will be sung by Lain Roy, who was a contestant on The Voice.

The project NOW provides a “drop of hope and thought,” and it is a tiny ripple of interpretation of McClafferty’s vision of what is going on in the world. It will go through a series of themes ranging from the brutal honesty of the scourge of fentanyl, to “Whose rights are right,” and a

reflection of ourselves in our children. These are issues that people don’t always want to talk about, but the idea is that maybe if it goes along with music, it can be more palatable and have an effect.

“It is there for people to look at and I hope that it does some good,” McClafferty said. “What are we doing in the world? It’s just a question.  I’m not trying to cast judgment. I just hope people will think about the lyrics and their history.”

Be sure to check out “Shades of Black and White” available on June 1, and keep up with all the new releases from Now.

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