Ishmael Ensemble perform I-Dentity featuring Rider Shafique for BBC Introducing at NYC Winter JazzFest.

***THIS VIDEO CONTAINS VERY STRONG LANGUAGE AND RACIAL LANGUAGE SOME MIGHT FIND OFFENSIVE***

Rider Shafique (lyricist, poet and MC) and vocalist on the track has this to say.

"The track identity came originally as part of a theatre play. I was given the opportunity to write a theatre piece, a 45-minute piece. And I decided to do that based around me making sense of my identity. And this was the title track, or the main part of that play. I decided to do the play based upon my strengths, which were vocals or spoken word.

So it was written as part of me trying to make sense of who I am and articulate those feelings and frustrations about race, and the labels that were assigned to myself throughout my lifetime. So I really wanted to write a piece that spoke for generations of people who have been assigned or been described as mixed.

I'm just trying to vocalise my opinion and my feelings, and I make that clear to the world."

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