Pressure Busspipe Photo Credit: GONG LIGHT MANAGEMENT CO.
At this very moment, protesters are building embattlements at the Minnesota police headquarters after the killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright by Minnesota police officer Kim Potter. The killing, which Ms. Potter described as accidental — stating she intended to pull out her taser but mistakenly used her gun — has sparked widespread protests in the same state that ignited one of the largest civil unrest movements the U.S. has seen when George Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020.
The killing of Black men and women at the hand of police is what prompted international Reggae artist and Virgin Islander, Pressure Busspipe, to pen "Blaze", a new song released a week ago that speaks directly to police brutality. In it, Pressure mentions the names of a number of Blacks whose lives were ended during police encounters.
"It was strong at the time as to the feelings and the emotions on what was happening in America, so I made sure to include some direct names of people that the world would relate to," he told the Consortium during a recent interview. "Those very names are the victims people were protesting for. There are many murders that go way beyond police brutality that people know about, but these were the names that were actually caught on camera or some instance where people had to actually protest them that made popular news."
Pressure said the song serves to "remind the people of who we are and to never give up the fight. And by any means necessary we have to protect our lives, even if it's against those people who are supposed to protect us. It's just a reminder of who we are and life is most important." The song was written following the death of Mr. Floyd, said the artist.
The latest work from Pressure is one of multiple songs that will be released on a single beat, called the "Love Like That Riddim", the artist told the Consortium, with Blaze being the first out. The song may also appear on an upcoming album Pressure said was in the mixing stages. "I'm trying to choose the best 10-13 songs that would fit timing right now," he said, adding that the Covid-induced lockdowns provided a lot of time to write music.
Relative to Covid-19 and how the pandemic has impacted his career, Pressure was straightforward with his response. "It's been trying times for sure. It brought me a lot close to what's real, which is the music. I wasn't out there performing shows as much so I was able to record a lot more music. I was able to find time to get back to the lab from not being on the road so much."
He added, "But as far as the economy, it's been really bad for artists, especially myself. But because of having a cushion I was able to sustain for quite a while. But hopefully the place opens back up soon so we could get back to where we were."
