[Cover photo credit to Katherine Copeland Anderson]

Andre Cymone is a Producer, multi-instrumentalist, and founder of the “Minneapolis Sound” and he has long believed that “protest music does not need to be dour to be effective; joy, movement, and celebration lift spirits and restore resolve.”  Just before the mid-term election, he released new single “All Rise”.

Says Cymone:

I know people often say artists and musicians should stay out of politics, but the existence of creative expression is like Kryptonite to authoritarianism. The ability for art and music to nurture independent thought and inspire us to recognize our shared identity holds more power than any corrupt regime could ever dream of having. Their power is dependent on fear and division. 

Our vote is our voice. With Masked men with immunity grabbing citizens off the streets, remember that today it’s “them”, tomorrow it’s you. I wrote a song for all of us and this moment, I hope it inspires you to go vote and get your kids, your Nieces, Nephews, Grandkids if they’re old enough. This is my call to everyone. All Rise. White, Black Puerto Rican better use your Vote and your Voice for speakin’.

Andre Cymone’s contributions to music shaped not only Prince’s earliest solo releases, but also the DNA of the bands that followed. Cymone’s early solo records embraced New Wave and futurism at a time when no Black artist was expected (or encouraged) to do so.

Later, he began writing and producing for artists including Jody Watley, Evelyn Champagne King, Tina Turner, Adam Ant, James Ingram, and others.

Cymone’s upcoming LP, The Resurrection of Funk, arrives as “artificial intelligence threatens to blur creativity into imitation.” Playing every instrument himself, with no guest musicians and no AI involvement, he “asserts the irreplaceable value of human intelligence in music.”