WEBVTT

00:01.334 --> 00:02.468
Announcer: This program
was made possible

00:02.468 --> 00:04.037
by contributions to
your PBS station

00:04.037 --> 00:05.939
from viewers like you.
Thank you.

00:08.408 --> 00:09.809
Somebody gave me
a cassette tape

00:09.909 --> 00:11.311
of Stevie Wonder
when I was a kid,

00:11.411 --> 00:12.812
probably about 12.

00:12.912 --> 00:14.814
A light switch clicked on,

00:14.914 --> 00:16.816
and I knew that I wanted

00:16.916 --> 00:19.419
to say things the way he
was saying them.

00:19.952 --> 00:22.989
♪♪

00:26.125 --> 00:28.028
Amna Nawaz: Hi, everyone.

00:28.127 --> 00:30.030
This is "Beyond the Canvas."

00:30.129 --> 00:32.966
From the "PBS Newshour,"
I'm Amna Nawaz.

00:33.066 --> 00:35.268
You've just heard
from Grammy-winning musician

00:35.368 --> 00:37.270
P.J. Morton,
who plays the keyboard

00:37.370 --> 00:39.539
for the hit band
Maroon 5.

00:39.639 --> 00:43.043
Please remember his phrase,
"a message with the music"

00:43.142 --> 00:45.812
because it's a theme
that flows through the work

00:45.912 --> 00:48.982
of all the African-American
musicians in this episode.

00:49.082 --> 00:52.986
As voices of Black Lives Matter
rise up around the country,

00:53.086 --> 00:56.523
we couldn't think of a better
time to spotlight these artists.

00:56.622 --> 01:00.160
Tonight, you'll hear from
the multitalented Common,

01:00.259 --> 01:02.929
musical ensemble
Ranky Tanky, along with

01:03.029 --> 01:06.099
singers Rhiannon Giddens
and Gary Clark Jr.

01:06.199 --> 01:08.601
The people you're about to meet
were first featured

01:08.701 --> 01:11.137
on the "PBS Newshour"
before the pandemic,

01:11.237 --> 01:14.441
but tonight you'll meet them
on a new canvas

01:14.540 --> 01:17.610
and maybe see them and their
work through a different lens,

01:17.710 --> 01:19.979
right here
on "Beyond the Canvas."

01:20.079 --> 01:23.483
Now, back to this brief,
but spectacular look

01:23.583 --> 01:26.252
at musician P.J. Morton.

01:26.352 --> 01:28.788
I was born
in New Orleans, Louisiana.

01:28.888 --> 01:31.791
My father's a preacher,
so I grew up a preacher's kid.

01:31.891 --> 01:34.260
There was a battle
between me

01:34.360 --> 01:36.763
not necessarily
wanting to be

01:36.863 --> 01:39.399
a gospel singer
or be a preacher.

01:39.499 --> 01:41.901
Black Christian churches is,

01:42.001 --> 01:45.071
I still think, you know, one
of the most amazing experiences.

01:45.171 --> 01:48.441
It was my first introduction
into performing,

01:48.541 --> 01:50.944
in a way, because you have
an audience that's there,

01:51.043 --> 01:54.447
the congregation, and I was
watching my dad stand up there

01:54.547 --> 01:56.950
and command the audience;
I'm not a preacher,

01:57.049 --> 02:00.320
but I like to think that I
carry a message with the music.

02:00.419 --> 02:02.755
Stevie Wonder, to me,

02:02.855 --> 02:04.724
even before I met him
or anything,

02:04.824 --> 02:08.228
indirectly taught me
how to write songs.

02:08.327 --> 02:10.730
Getting to work with him,
hearing that song,

02:10.830 --> 02:13.833
and then that song being
nominated for a Grammy,

02:13.933 --> 02:16.970
it still is today,
to me, the--the top thing.

02:17.069 --> 02:20.974
The song I wanted Stevie to be
on was a song called "Only One."

02:21.073 --> 02:23.343
♪ Oh, you're the only one ♪
that I need ♪

02:23.442 --> 02:25.645
♪ The one that I need, ♪
one that I need ♪

02:25.745 --> 02:27.614
♪ Stevie Wonder, play on ♪

02:27.713 --> 02:29.616
[Harmonica solo playing]

02:29.715 --> 02:32.118
That year I was nominated
for "Only One,"

02:32.218 --> 02:35.488
my dad was nominated
for Gospel Song of the Year.

02:35.588 --> 02:39.159
I think it was the first
father-and-son nomination since,

02:39.258 --> 02:42.929
like, Bob Dylan and Jakob,
like, 15 years before that.

02:43.029 --> 02:45.165
It was cool for us
'cause we got to spend

02:45.264 --> 02:47.400
father-and-son time
at the Grammys.

02:47.500 --> 02:50.203
My mom was taking
5 million pictures.

02:50.303 --> 02:52.539
I try to write selfishly.

02:52.638 --> 02:57.544
I try to have as little mental
processing as possible if I can

02:57.643 --> 03:00.046
'cause you start thinking about
the fans, and the fans change,

03:00.146 --> 03:03.116
or you start thinking about
some person you're writing for

03:03.216 --> 03:05.118
and your relationship changes.

03:05.218 --> 03:07.120
I think the only thing
you can truly do is

03:07.220 --> 03:10.123
come from an honest place
and just expect

03:10.223 --> 03:13.860
that people are gonna be able
to connect to the honesty.

03:13.960 --> 03:16.896
"Gumbo" is my favorite album
that I've done,

03:16.996 --> 03:19.232
and it's the first album
that I was able

03:19.332 --> 03:21.234
to make at home
in New Orleans.

03:21.334 --> 03:24.237
And New Orleans is, you know,
"laissez le bon temps rouler,"

03:24.337 --> 03:26.406
which is "let the good times
roll," it's "The Big Easy,"

03:26.505 --> 03:30.243
so nobody was on my back
as if I was in L.A., like,

03:30.343 --> 03:32.745
"Hey, man, you got
to meet this, you got to"--

03:32.845 --> 03:35.748
no, it's just like, "Oh, man,
that sounds good, P.," you know.

03:35.848 --> 03:38.084
It's just whatever feels good
in New Orleans.

03:38.184 --> 03:40.086
I owe a lot to
the city, too, for

03:40.186 --> 03:43.189
giving me
that spirit of freedom.

03:43.289 --> 03:45.858
My name is P.J. Morton,
and this is my brief

03:45.958 --> 03:50.163
but spectacular take
on making music for me.

03:50.263 --> 03:54.267
Our next guest is one
of the biggest names in hip hop,

03:54.367 --> 03:56.903
known for the rhythm
and the rhymes he's created

03:57.003 --> 03:59.072
over nearly 3 decades
in music.

03:59.171 --> 04:03.076
I sat down with Common in
our studio to discuss his music,

04:03.175 --> 04:06.579
where he finds inspiration,
and why he finally decided

04:06.679 --> 04:08.748
to tell his own story.

04:08.848 --> 04:11.417
Common: ♪ This is street ra-dio
for unsung hero ♪

04:11.517 --> 04:13.686
♪ Ridin' in the Regal, ♪
tryin' to stay legal ♪

04:13.786 --> 04:16.189
Nawaz: Lonnie Rashid Lynn,
better known as Common,

04:16.289 --> 04:18.491
first emerged on the rap scene
in the nineties.

04:18.591 --> 04:21.327
In 2000, his first
major-label album,

04:21.427 --> 04:24.030
"Like Water for Chocolate,"
brought big success,

04:24.130 --> 04:27.700
and his 2005 album "Be"
was a commercial hit,

04:27.800 --> 04:30.370
leading to one
of several Grammy Awards.

04:30.469 --> 04:33.039
As his fame has grown,
Common has used

04:33.139 --> 04:37.043
his growing platform to become
more politically vocal.

04:37.143 --> 04:40.713
Through it all,
Common continues to make music.

04:40.813 --> 04:44.150
His 2019 album "Let Love"
accompanied a memoir.

04:44.250 --> 04:45.652
Thank you for having me.

04:45.751 --> 04:47.654
I want to ask you
about your memoir now.

04:47.753 --> 04:50.256
It's called "Let Love
Have the Last Word."

04:50.356 --> 04:52.625
What was it about this
stage of your career,

04:52.725 --> 04:54.627
this stage of your life
that made you want

04:54.727 --> 04:56.629
to sit down
and write this book?

04:56.729 --> 04:59.132
Well, I think there's
a lot of what we see

04:59.231 --> 05:02.035
going on in the world
like the, um,

05:02.134 --> 05:04.537
divisiveness, the anxiety,

05:04.637 --> 05:08.541
a lot of the--including
the attacks and things.

05:08.641 --> 05:12.378
I really wanted to put--

05:12.478 --> 05:14.881
instill something
that was hopeful,

05:14.980 --> 05:18.051
instill something that
could be solution-oriented,

05:18.150 --> 05:21.554
and something that has been
an antidote for me,

05:21.654 --> 05:24.557
a resource for me
to overcome,

05:24.657 --> 05:26.726
you know, tough times
in my life.

05:26.826 --> 05:29.228
I wanted to share that
with other people.

05:29.328 --> 05:32.598
It's also a very intensely
personal book.

05:32.698 --> 05:35.635
One of the things that you
share for the first time,

05:35.735 --> 05:38.638
speaking publicly about it,
was that as a child,

05:38.738 --> 05:40.540
you suffered
a very serious trauma.

05:40.639 --> 05:42.041
Yeah.

05:42.041 --> 05:42.041
You were molested when

05:42.141 --> 05:43.743
you were 9 years old.

05:43.743 --> 05:43.743
Yes.

05:43.843 --> 05:46.412
What did it take for you
to get to a place

05:46.512 --> 05:49.082
where you felt like you
could talk about that?

05:50.282 --> 05:52.185
You know, I felt that

05:52.284 --> 05:54.687
if--if I decide
to talk about it,

05:54.787 --> 05:57.190
it would be healing
for me, but also

05:57.289 --> 05:59.192
healing for others

05:59.291 --> 06:02.261
because other people
experience

06:02.361 --> 06:04.764
sexual abuse,
molestation, um,

06:04.864 --> 06:08.768
just physical abuse,
and I knew, as a black man,

06:08.868 --> 06:11.771
me talking about it
would give a gateway

06:11.871 --> 06:14.273
and an opening
for other men,

06:14.373 --> 06:16.776
black people, brown people,
what--you know,

06:16.876 --> 06:19.278
just to be able to talk about it
because--and I bring us,

06:19.378 --> 06:21.280
you know, black people
into the equation

06:21.380 --> 06:24.450
because for us, it's--

06:24.550 --> 06:26.953
in our culture,
it's not really discussed.

06:27.052 --> 06:29.956
Like, when those things
happen, it's not talked

06:30.055 --> 06:32.759
about as much
on "How do we solve this?

06:32.858 --> 06:35.261
How do we, like,
stop the cycle?"

06:35.361 --> 06:39.265
So I really knew
that if I told my story

06:39.365 --> 06:42.268
and told it in a way
that's really just raw

06:42.368 --> 06:45.772
and truthful, and still
acknowledge that I'm in

06:45.871 --> 06:48.775
the process and--it would
allow other human beings

06:48.874 --> 06:50.476
to come out
and talk about it.

06:50.576 --> 06:52.478
You have never
been afraid

06:52.578 --> 06:53.980
of tackling
the tough stuff...

06:54.079 --> 06:55.481
Heh!

06:55.481 --> 06:55.481
in your career, whether

06:55.581 --> 06:56.983
it's about your own personal
journeys--you mentioned

06:57.082 --> 06:58.985
your criminal justice
reform work,

06:59.084 --> 07:00.486
you tweet a lot...

07:00.486 --> 07:00.486
Yeah.

07:00.586 --> 07:02.655
about immigration detention,
you were tweeting

07:02.755 --> 07:05.324
about the ICE raids
recently and injustices

07:05.424 --> 07:07.326
that you see
going on around you.

07:07.426 --> 07:09.328
Where does that
come from?

07:09.428 --> 07:11.330
Do you have a--like, a
sense of responsibility

07:11.430 --> 07:13.332
to pay attention
and be engaged?

07:13.432 --> 07:15.835
You know, I grew up on
the south side of Chicago,

07:15.935 --> 07:17.837
a community
which I really love,

07:17.937 --> 07:20.339
and that community is like
many other communities,

07:20.439 --> 07:23.342
communities that suffer
from, um,

07:23.442 --> 07:25.845
being marginalized,

07:25.945 --> 07:27.847
being treated
less than,

07:27.947 --> 07:30.850
having lack of opportunities
and resources,

07:30.950 --> 07:33.219
so when I see somebody
being pushed down,

07:33.319 --> 07:35.721
I just relate to it.
I have to speak up.

07:35.821 --> 07:38.224
It's my duty
as a human being,

07:38.324 --> 07:41.561
as an artist, um,
and not only speaking out;

07:41.660 --> 07:44.897
to me, my speaking
has to become action,

07:44.997 --> 07:48.201
and that's what I'm in--
more involved in.

07:48.300 --> 07:50.203
You did say something
in your book I wanted

07:50.302 --> 07:52.205
to read to you, though,
about sort of the roots

07:52.304 --> 07:54.173
of where your music comes
from, which is freestyling.

07:54.273 --> 07:55.374
Yeah.

07:55.374 --> 07:55.374
You were talking about

07:55.474 --> 07:56.943
rapping, you say,
"I've been rapping

07:57.042 --> 07:58.444
"for more than
25 years now.

07:58.544 --> 07:59.946
"I would rap if I
lived on the streets,

08:00.045 --> 08:01.514
"I would rap
if I were a preacher

08:01.614 --> 08:03.516
or a prisoner or
a politician."

08:03.616 --> 08:05.017
You say it's your release,
that sometimes,

08:05.117 --> 08:06.519
even if you can't do it
in the studio,

08:06.619 --> 08:08.020
you just hop in the car.

08:08.020 --> 08:08.020
Yeah.

08:08.120 --> 08:09.522
And you go and you do.

08:09.622 --> 08:11.190
You really just do that?

08:11.190 --> 08:11.190
Yeah.

08:11.290 --> 08:12.859
You just get out in
the car and freestyle?

08:12.958 --> 08:15.862
Yeah, I mean, I love--that's
actually how I write my songs,

08:15.961 --> 08:18.865
is, like, I get in the car
and I just, like,

08:18.964 --> 08:21.534
put on a beat and I say
my raps out loud,

08:21.634 --> 08:24.136
just start freestyling
whatever lines I like.

08:24.236 --> 08:27.306
I do believe it's
a divine expression,

08:27.406 --> 08:30.810
meaning I'm only creating
when I'm at my--

08:30.910 --> 08:33.312
when I'm in a, like,
a pure place and I'm feeling

08:33.412 --> 08:35.314
like this--I'm not
thinking too hard.

08:35.414 --> 08:37.483
So is this
a pure place right here?

08:37.583 --> 08:39.986
OK, if you give me
a word, it's...

08:40.085 --> 08:42.655
Oh, OK. How 'bout--
how 'bout "facts"?

08:42.755 --> 08:45.157
Can you riff off "facts"?

08:45.157 --> 08:45.157
OK.

08:45.257 --> 08:47.326
Sometimes
she might even ask

08:47.426 --> 08:49.829
if I can come here
and rap off facts

08:49.929 --> 08:52.331
I'mma tell you this,
even sitting in a booth,

08:52.431 --> 08:55.001
any time I talk about facts,
I spit truth.

08:55.100 --> 08:58.137
That's what it is. I spring--
I spring truth to power.

08:58.237 --> 09:01.207
I came to do this
at the "PBS NewsHour."

09:01.307 --> 09:02.575
Ha!

09:02.575 --> 09:02.575
That's ours.

09:02.675 --> 09:04.944
You know how it is.
I'm telling the facts.

09:05.044 --> 09:06.946
I've been telling
the facts for years,

09:07.046 --> 09:09.782
and when it comes to this,
yo, I say no lie.

09:09.882 --> 09:12.785
That's why some politicians,
I, like, see in they eye,

09:12.885 --> 09:14.787
they don't be telling
the facts, yo, facts,

09:14.887 --> 09:16.789
that's false,
and what'll happen

09:16.889 --> 09:19.792
when it come to trying to be
the boss? Some get lost.

09:19.892 --> 09:22.962
The lost tapes try to escape,
but I'm telling you now, yo,

09:23.062 --> 09:24.964
it's more than
one take, it's truth,

09:25.064 --> 09:27.300
and I'm giving you that
when it comes down.

09:27.399 --> 09:29.635
This is how the facts
just sound.

09:29.735 --> 09:31.971
I think we have
our new theme song...

09:32.071 --> 09:34.974
Heh!

09:34.974 --> 09:34.974
here at the "NewsHour."

09:35.074 --> 09:37.810
Just like Common,
the musical group

09:37.910 --> 09:40.212
Ranky Tanky has
a mission.

09:40.312 --> 09:42.715
The South Carolina band
is known for the revival

09:42.815 --> 09:45.518
and celebration
of Gullah music and culture,

09:45.618 --> 09:47.453
which originated
among descendants

09:47.553 --> 09:49.956
of enslaved people
from West Africa.

09:50.055 --> 09:52.291
"PBS NewsHour's"
chief arts, culture,

09:52.391 --> 09:55.828
and society correspondent
Jeffrey Brown went to see how

09:55.928 --> 09:59.665
the group has given new life
to this old art form.

09:59.765 --> 10:01.667
[Slow jazz playing]
Woman: Y'all clap.

10:01.767 --> 10:03.135
Brown: Ranky Tanky.

10:03.235 --> 10:05.638
It loosely means
"get funky,"

10:05.738 --> 10:08.975
and you can see and feel why
it's the right name

10:09.074 --> 10:13.145
for a band celebrating and
reinventing a music of joy...

10:13.245 --> 10:17.049
Woman:
♪ Down in the darkness, yeah ♪

10:17.149 --> 10:20.052
Band: ♪ Stand by me ♪

10:20.152 --> 10:22.555
Brown: and pain...

10:22.655 --> 10:25.558
Woman:
♪ In these hard times ♪

10:25.658 --> 10:28.060
♪ Filled with shadows ♪

10:28.160 --> 10:32.231
♪ When a dark cloud ♪
calls my name... ♪

10:32.331 --> 10:35.468
Brown: rhythms brought by
the enslaved from West Africa,

10:35.567 --> 10:37.970
spirituals of
the Christian church,

10:38.070 --> 10:40.506
themes that resonate today.

10:40.606 --> 10:42.742
♪ Come by here, ♪
my Lord ♪

10:42.841 --> 10:44.744
Both: ♪ Come by here... ♪
Brown: It includes songs

10:44.843 --> 10:47.279
many know, though
you've likely never heard

10:47.379 --> 10:49.649
"Kumbaya"
quite like this.

10:49.748 --> 10:51.651
♪ Somebody's praying, Lord ♪

10:51.750 --> 10:54.153
Ha ha!
Both: ♪ Come by here... ♪

10:54.253 --> 10:56.489
Brown: An impromptu
performance for us

10:56.588 --> 10:58.691
by vocalist Quiana Parler

10:58.791 --> 11:01.427
and trumpet player
Charlton Singleton...

11:01.527 --> 11:04.797
...and the Grammy goes
to "Good Time," Ranky Tanky.

11:04.897 --> 11:06.799
Brown: fresh off
winning a Grammy

11:06.899 --> 11:10.302
for the album "Good Time,"
a first for Gullah music.

11:10.402 --> 11:12.571
Singleton: It meant a lot
to me with this community

11:12.671 --> 11:15.641
just because of the magnitude
of the whole Gullah thing.

11:15.741 --> 11:17.643
You felt you were
representing something?

11:17.743 --> 11:20.146
Yes. It's an honor
to be here to stand

11:20.245 --> 11:22.648
on the shoulders
of our Gullah ancestry...

11:22.748 --> 11:24.150
Singleton, voice-over:
That's representative

11:24.249 --> 11:25.618
of how I was raised

11:25.718 --> 11:27.119
to be a musician

11:27.219 --> 11:29.288
from listening and watching

11:29.388 --> 11:32.291
and imitating all
of my aunts

11:32.391 --> 11:34.293
and uncles
and grandparents.

11:34.393 --> 11:36.796
Thank you so much.
Singleton: And, uh, you know,

11:36.895 --> 11:39.198
have it all kind of
culminate with a Grammy.

11:39.298 --> 11:41.200
Wow! Yes! Heh!

11:41.300 --> 11:44.537
Growing up in church, we
emulated the elders as well.

11:44.636 --> 11:47.039
It was like
a homecoming for me.

11:47.139 --> 11:50.543
Brown: The ensemble is based
in Charleston and specializes

11:50.642 --> 11:53.946
in jazz-influenced arrangements
of traditional Gullah...

11:54.046 --> 11:55.815
Ranky Tanky: ♪ Oh, my,
you look so... ♪

11:55.914 --> 11:58.150
Brown: sometimes called
Gulla Geechee...

11:58.250 --> 12:00.653
[Man chants, claps]
Brown: which originated

12:00.819 --> 12:04.056
among descendants
of enslaved Africans in Georgia,

12:04.156 --> 12:06.559
Florida, and South Carolina.

12:06.658 --> 12:08.561
[Trumpet playing jazz]

12:08.660 --> 12:10.730
The 4 male members
of Ranky Tanky

12:10.829 --> 12:13.065
have played music together
since meeting

12:13.165 --> 12:16.402
at the College of Charleston
in the 1990s,

12:16.502 --> 12:20.406
but they'd all gone off
to do their own things until,

12:20.506 --> 12:24.744
two decades on, guitarist
and vocalist Clay Ross proposed

12:24.843 --> 12:28.781
reuniting around Gullah.
Parler: ♪ Show your purpose ♪

12:28.881 --> 12:32.418
Brown: They brought in
Quiana Parler in 2017.

12:32.518 --> 12:34.420
Man, voice-over:
I am a disciple of this music.

12:34.520 --> 12:37.423
This music moves me, you know,
this music has called to me,

12:37.523 --> 12:40.826
it's inspired me,
and it's been a part of my life

12:40.926 --> 12:42.828
for over two decades.

12:42.928 --> 12:45.498
Parler: ♪ All for you... ♪
Ross: There's no one out there

12:45.597 --> 12:49.702
doing a contemporary expression
of our South Carolina

12:49.802 --> 12:52.004
roots music and specifically
Gullah music.

12:52.104 --> 12:55.841
Man: It's an English-based
Creole language, Gullah is.

12:55.941 --> 12:59.011
Brown: There is a strong sense
of mission with this band,

12:59.111 --> 13:02.081
as we saw when percussionist
Quentin Baxter,

13:02.181 --> 13:05.084
bassist Kevin Hamilton,
and Clay Ross

13:05.184 --> 13:07.553
offered a lesson
in history and music...

13:07.653 --> 13:10.256
Ross: ♪ Ooh, way down yonder ♪
Brown: to students at

13:10.355 --> 13:12.825
the Charleston Seventh-Day
Adventist School.

13:12.925 --> 13:16.495
It wasn't a hard sell, as these
fifth- to eighth-graders

13:16.595 --> 13:19.498
quickly took to the clapping,
singing, and dancing.

13:19.598 --> 13:21.500
[All clamor]

13:21.600 --> 13:24.003
Baxter: The thing
about it is the music

13:24.102 --> 13:27.006
and the message
of the culture itself

13:27.105 --> 13:30.075
deserves as big
of a stage as it can get.

13:30.175 --> 13:32.578
♪ Oh, my, ♪
you look so... ♪

13:32.678 --> 13:34.613
Hamilton, voice-over: I like
to think of it as hopefully

13:34.713 --> 13:36.916
being part of the evolution
of the culture, so there is

13:37.015 --> 13:38.984
a preservation there, but also,
I think, there's also the,

13:39.084 --> 13:42.588
you know, sharing it with the
world and also in adding to it.

13:42.688 --> 13:46.959
Parler: ♪ Let me be
like a Simmon tree... ♪

13:47.059 --> 13:50.129
Brown: Ranky Tanky band members
want to play it forward

13:50.229 --> 13:52.631
for current and future
generations.

13:52.731 --> 13:54.133
♪ Let me be... ♪

13:54.233 --> 13:56.302
Brown: The pandemic lockdown
put a halt

13:56.401 --> 13:58.637
to the band's
post-Grammy high.

13:58.737 --> 14:01.040
Charlton Singleton
gave me an update.

14:01.139 --> 14:03.542
Singleton: You definitely
miss, you know, just being

14:03.642 --> 14:06.045
around your brothers and
your sister, you know,

14:06.144 --> 14:09.381
in Ranky Tanky
and what was, you know,

14:09.481 --> 14:13.152
going to be this grand
celebration for us.

14:13.252 --> 14:17.156
Brown: The band did play at
an empty Charleston music hall,

14:17.256 --> 14:19.158
a virtual performance.

14:19.258 --> 14:23.829
♪ When a dark light ♪
creeps up on me ♪

14:23.929 --> 14:26.332
Brown: Its members have
kept healthy and busy

14:26.431 --> 14:29.501
with individual projects
and, Singleton says,

14:29.601 --> 14:32.004
the pain of pandemic
and continuing racial

14:32.104 --> 14:36.108
and social divisions bring
a new urgency to their music.

14:36.208 --> 14:40.613
Does the music you're doing
address our time even more now?

14:40.712 --> 14:44.817
Singleton: I believe that
it does. It always has.

14:44.917 --> 14:47.253
[Playing mellow jazz]

14:51.156 --> 14:53.559
Singleton, voice-over:
It always goes back to love

14:53.659 --> 14:55.561
and faith in
the Gullah community,

14:55.661 --> 15:00.065
so we feel that
definitely our music is,

15:00.165 --> 15:04.136
um, really primed for what's
happening right now.

15:04.236 --> 15:06.138
[Playing lively jazz]

15:06.238 --> 15:10.476
Brown: Ranky Tanky is hoping
to return to large venues...

15:10.575 --> 15:12.811
Singleton: It was in
this very room that we recorded

15:12.911 --> 15:15.814
our Grammy Award-winning album.
[Crowd cheers]

15:15.914 --> 15:18.851
Brown: while still playing
for local friends and family,

15:18.951 --> 15:22.554
as we'd seen on our visit...
Ross: ♪ Good time, a good time ♪

15:22.654 --> 15:25.391
Ranky Tanky:
♪ We gonna have a time ♪

15:25.490 --> 15:27.893
Brown:
embracing the good time

15:27.993 --> 15:29.895
and joyful sounds
of Gullah.

15:29.995 --> 15:31.997
Ranky Tanky:
♪ Shake it, yeah ♪

15:32.097 --> 15:34.500
♪ Shake it, go... ♪

15:34.599 --> 15:36.502
Next, another musician

15:36.601 --> 15:38.871
with a strong connection
to her musical roots.

15:38.971 --> 15:41.473
Vocalist Rhiannon Giddens
sees herself

15:41.573 --> 15:43.642
as part of the tradition
that includes

15:43.742 --> 15:46.011
some of the great ladies
of music:

15:46.111 --> 15:47.980
Odetta, Patsy Cline,

15:48.080 --> 15:49.982
Dolly Parton,
and Nina Simone.

15:50.082 --> 15:51.984
Giddens shared
with Jeffrey Brown how

15:52.084 --> 15:54.320
she uses
historical inspiration

15:54.419 --> 15:57.222
to inform her own sound.

15:57.322 --> 16:02.322
Giddens: ♪ Waterboy ♪

16:05.030 --> 16:07.933
Brown: It's a powerful song,
"Waterboy,"

16:08.033 --> 16:11.136
made famous by
the folk singer Odetta,

16:11.236 --> 16:13.806
now becoming a signature
for a powerful

16:13.905 --> 16:17.309
new voice of today, belonging
to Rhiannon Giddens.

16:17.409 --> 16:22.214
Giddens:
♪ ...tell your Pa on you ♪

16:22.314 --> 16:25.718
♪ It's all become ♪
so complicated... ♪

16:25.817 --> 16:28.721
Brown: Her debut celebrates
women who influenced her,

16:28.820 --> 16:31.991
some famous like Dolly Parton
and Patsy Cline...

16:32.090 --> 16:33.759
Giddens:
♪ ...you stay ♪

16:33.859 --> 16:36.895
[Different song playing]
Giddens: ♪ Pawn my watch... ♪

16:36.995 --> 16:39.398
Brown: others,
like Sister Rosetta Tharpe

16:39.498 --> 16:41.567
and Libby Cotten,
much less so.

16:41.666 --> 16:45.471
Giddens: ♪ ...everything
that was in my name ♪

16:45.570 --> 16:50.570
♪ Oh, Lordy me, ♪
didn't I shake sugaree? ♪

16:50.709 --> 16:54.646
♪ Everything I got ♪
is done and pawned... ♪

16:54.746 --> 16:56.648
Giddens, voice-over: I've been
really thinking about the woman

16:56.748 --> 16:58.984
in Americana music and the woman
in American history and just

16:59.084 --> 17:01.553
kind of thinking about all
these really strong women

17:01.653 --> 17:04.056
who, you know,
broke down doors

17:04.156 --> 17:07.559
and, you know, had to kind of
overcome lots of hardship

17:07.659 --> 17:09.561
to, like, even have
a music career

17:09.661 --> 17:12.297
and just how much I
benefit from that.

17:12.397 --> 17:15.801
♪ ...they asked of me ♪
what could I say? ♪

17:15.901 --> 17:17.803
To me,
all of those songs--

17:17.903 --> 17:21.440
blues, you know,
jazz, uh, country--

17:21.540 --> 17:24.777
you know, all of them actually
do belong side by side

17:24.876 --> 17:27.279
'cause they're all coming out
of this common well of--

17:27.379 --> 17:30.449
of sort of the proto-American
music, like, this root stuff,

17:30.549 --> 17:32.951
you know, and so it was
just kind of irresistible

17:33.051 --> 17:35.888
to be able to--to do
them all together.

17:35.987 --> 17:37.556
Brown:
Giddens studied opera

17:37.656 --> 17:40.259
at the Oberlin Conservatory
in Ohio.

17:40.358 --> 17:43.262
It was there she came back
to earlier loves:

17:43.361 --> 17:46.265
folk music, first
through contra dance,

17:46.364 --> 17:49.568
similar to line-dancing,
and then string band music

17:49.668 --> 17:51.070
from Appalachia.

17:51.169 --> 17:53.072
♪ When the waters flow ♪
and the grasses grow... ♪

17:53.171 --> 17:55.574
Brown: That led to
an exploration of the often

17:55.674 --> 17:58.577
overlooked role of
African-Americans in the genre.

17:58.677 --> 18:01.146
Her group,
The Carolina Chocolate Drops,

18:01.246 --> 18:05.384
won a 2010 Grammy
for Best New Folk Album.

18:05.484 --> 18:08.520
♪ I am a country girl... ♪

18:08.620 --> 18:11.056
Giddens, voice-over: String band
music is a cross-cultural thing.

18:11.156 --> 18:13.559
It's not a white thing.
It's not a black thing, either.

18:13.658 --> 18:16.562
I'm a mixed-race person,
you know, and I

18:16.661 --> 18:18.730
was raised with both
culturally, and I

18:18.830 --> 18:21.233
was raised sort of,
you know, with this Southern

18:21.333 --> 18:24.236
sort of mélange
of cultures, and so,

18:24.336 --> 18:26.738
to me, getting
that information out there

18:26.838 --> 18:29.908
is way, way important
because it's like, "Look, guys,

18:30.008 --> 18:33.145
like, this is why
American music is so strong."

18:33.245 --> 18:35.414
♪ If you don't ♪
come right here ♪

18:35.514 --> 18:37.416
♪ If you don't come ♪
right here... ♪

18:37.516 --> 18:38.917
Brown: Then,
one of those moments

18:39.017 --> 18:41.420
that can change a career...

18:41.520 --> 18:43.422
Giddens:
♪ ...tear your... ♪

18:43.522 --> 18:46.091
Brown: a concert
in New York in 2013,

18:46.191 --> 18:49.895
put together by legendary music
producer T-Bone Burnett

18:49.995 --> 18:53.398
to celebrate the film about
the early folk music scene,

18:53.498 --> 18:55.200
"Inside Llewyn Davis."

18:55.300 --> 18:58.203
[Singing in Gaelic]

18:58.303 --> 19:00.706
Brown: Many stars performed,

19:00.805 --> 19:03.208
Joan Baez, Jack White,
Patti Smith,

19:03.308 --> 19:05.210
and Elvis Costello
among them...

19:05.310 --> 19:07.546
[Giddens singing in Gaelic]

19:07.646 --> 19:10.549
Brown: but, by all accounts,
Giddens stole the show,

19:10.649 --> 19:14.353
including with a rousing song
sung in Gaelic.

19:14.452 --> 19:17.189
[Giddens singing rapidly
in Gaelic]

19:22.928 --> 19:24.830
It was like,
"Now, don't screw it up,

19:24.930 --> 19:26.331
don't screw up,
don't screw up."

19:26.431 --> 19:28.867
[Singing rapidly in Gaelic]

19:28.967 --> 19:31.203
Giddens: You know,
and the rest of it

19:31.303 --> 19:33.205
just kind of came
as a total surprise.

19:33.305 --> 19:36.208
[Song ends,
cheering and applause]

19:36.308 --> 19:38.544
Brown: Soon after,
T-Bone Burnett offered

19:38.643 --> 19:41.713
to produce Giddens'
first solo album.

19:41.813 --> 19:45.384
Giddens: I'd be a fool
to not use all the tools

19:45.483 --> 19:47.886
at my disposal, you know,
because really,

19:47.986 --> 19:50.055
the important thing to me is
the music and the mission,

19:50.155 --> 19:53.225
so if me being a soloist is
going to be the best way

19:53.325 --> 19:55.727
to get it out to
more people, I'll do it.

19:55.827 --> 19:58.230
If me, like, putting on makeup
and a nice gown

19:58.330 --> 20:00.732
is gonna help the,
you know, the mission

20:00.832 --> 20:04.403
and to get the whole project
taken forward, I'll do it.

20:04.502 --> 20:05.904
[Vocalizing]

20:06.004 --> 20:07.406
Brown: But you're
being, in a sense,

20:07.505 --> 20:10.008
for the larger public,
discovered at 38.

20:10.108 --> 20:12.344
Yeah, and I--I am
so grateful for that.

20:12.444 --> 20:14.846
I was an idiot at 28,
you know what I mean?

20:14.946 --> 20:16.848
Like, not to say
that I'm, you know,

20:16.948 --> 20:19.117
I'm about half-idiot
now, so, you know, you

20:19.217 --> 20:20.619
just learn so much
as you get older, I've

20:20.719 --> 20:22.287
got kids, like, I just
know what's important

20:22.387 --> 20:24.156
in this life.

20:24.256 --> 20:26.158
It's a good spot to
be in at the moment.

20:26.258 --> 20:28.160
♪ She told me that she ♪
wouldn't mind ♪

20:28.260 --> 20:33.131
♪ And then commenced ♪
to roam ♪

20:34.399 --> 20:37.302
Finally,
another musician embracing

20:37.402 --> 20:39.471
a full palette of sounds is

20:39.571 --> 20:42.641
Grammy Award-winning artist
Gary Clark Jr.

20:42.741 --> 20:46.144
Best known for his fusion
of blues, rock, and soul,

20:46.244 --> 20:48.380
Clark reflects on the past

20:48.480 --> 20:50.882
and shares his hopes
for the future.

20:50.982 --> 20:52.384
Jeffrey Brown is back.

20:52.484 --> 20:54.653
["This Land" playing]

20:54.753 --> 20:56.655
Clark: ♪ Paranoid
and pissed off... ♪

20:56.755 --> 20:59.992
Brown: In the title song
of his latest album "This Land,"

21:00.091 --> 21:02.995
Gary Clark Jr. sounds
an angry cry...

21:03.094 --> 21:06.098
Clark: ♪ Right in
the middle of Trump country ♪

21:06.197 --> 21:09.268
Brown: about the racism and
hatred he sees in America today,

21:09.367 --> 21:12.904
and a confrontation he himself
had with a white neighbor

21:13.004 --> 21:15.474
after he bought a new ranch
outside his hometown

21:15.573 --> 21:17.576
of Austin, Texas.

21:17.676 --> 21:20.746
Clark: ♪ Go back where
you come from ♪

21:20.845 --> 21:23.181
♪ We don't want, ♪
we don't want your kind ♪

21:23.281 --> 21:26.385
♪ This is where I ♪
come from ♪

21:26.484 --> 21:29.087
♪ This land is mine ♪

21:29.087 --> 21:31.790
♪ This land is mine ♪

21:31.890 --> 21:34.793
Clark: Basically,
"This Land" is me saying,

21:34.893 --> 21:38.230
"Yeah, there's all this around,
but forget everybody.

21:38.330 --> 21:41.233
"Nobody can bring you
down in your head.

21:41.333 --> 21:44.236
"Nobody can make you
feel less than.

21:44.336 --> 21:47.472
"Nobody can make you
feel not equal to.

21:47.572 --> 21:50.175
"Be strong, be proud,

21:50.275 --> 21:53.845
be humble, but don't
let 'em break you."

21:53.945 --> 21:56.682
Brown: Clark is a proud product
of Austin's famed

21:56.781 --> 22:00.185
Sixth Street music scene--
one club after another,

22:00.285 --> 22:02.754
a wide variety
of live music.

22:02.854 --> 22:05.090
He got his first guitar at 12

22:05.190 --> 22:07.926
and was quickly grabbed by
the sound of the blues,

22:08.026 --> 22:11.496
where, still in middle school,
he found an immediate home.

22:11.596 --> 22:14.499
I had this raw thing,
and there was guitar players

22:14.599 --> 22:16.735
out front, and there was
lead guitar playing,

22:16.835 --> 22:19.404
there was improvisation,
and when I saw these people

22:19.504 --> 22:22.174
playing blues and when I
went down to that blues club,

22:22.273 --> 22:24.843
and it was filled up with smoke
and it was old guys who were

22:24.943 --> 22:27.679
cool with their leather jackets
and their Stratocasters,

22:27.779 --> 22:30.349
you know, and their amps,
I was like, "Man,

22:30.448 --> 22:33.018
I want to be a part of this,"
and they welcomed us.

22:33.118 --> 22:36.688
Think of being 14 years old,
to have your elders

22:36.788 --> 22:39.558
welcome you and be
excited, you know.

22:39.657 --> 22:42.561
Brown: The welcoming
into the blues community

22:42.660 --> 22:46.565
would culminate
some years later in 2010

22:46.664 --> 22:49.401
when Clark was invited
by Eric Clapton

22:49.501 --> 22:52.304
to perform at his legendary
Crossroads Festival.

22:52.404 --> 22:55.407
["Bright Lights" playing]

22:55.507 --> 22:59.010
♪ You gonna know ♪
my name, yeah ♪

22:59.110 --> 23:00.512
It meant something to me.

23:00.612 --> 23:03.248
I felt like I was
a part of something.

23:05.750 --> 23:07.652
Brown:
A brilliant guitarist,

23:07.752 --> 23:10.655
he would play at
the White House in 2012,

23:10.755 --> 23:13.024
win a Grammy
two years later,

23:13.124 --> 23:16.528
but Clark never saw himself
as limited to the blues

23:16.628 --> 23:18.864
and had begun to feel
constrained by what the world

23:18.963 --> 23:21.032
expected or wanted
from him.

23:21.132 --> 23:24.069
His newest album--his third
studio recording--

23:24.169 --> 23:26.405
is his most varied
statement yet,

23:26.504 --> 23:30.108
a broad palette of sounds,
including reggae...

23:30.208 --> 23:34.513
♪ You're not looking ♪
for a lover ♪

23:34.612 --> 23:36.848
a Prince-like falsetto...

23:36.948 --> 23:41.720
♪ You don't understand ♪
how you hurt me ♪

23:42.854 --> 23:44.189
Whoo!

23:44.289 --> 23:47.192
Brown: straight-ahead
Chuck Berry rock 'n' roll riffs.

23:47.292 --> 23:49.394
[Playing fast rock]

23:51.830 --> 23:53.732
[Playing slower rock]

23:53.832 --> 23:55.901
Brown: And also now
in his music,

23:56.000 --> 23:58.403
the hopes and fears
of being a parent.

23:58.503 --> 24:01.540
Clark and his wife Nicole
have two young children.

24:01.639 --> 24:06.044
He says that and the world
they're growing up in

24:06.144 --> 24:10.382
make him want his music to reach
deeper and have greater impact.

24:10.482 --> 24:14.553
Clark: It's because of
this tension and social climate,

24:14.652 --> 24:17.556
you know,
race relations and fear

24:17.655 --> 24:20.525
and the unknown.

24:20.625 --> 24:22.527
How do I maneuver
through that

24:22.627 --> 24:25.030
and teach my kids how
to be strong,

24:25.129 --> 24:27.032
teach my kids how
to be loving

24:27.131 --> 24:29.568
in a world
that can be so cruel?

24:29.667 --> 24:32.070
♪ Come together ♪

24:32.170 --> 24:34.072
Come on! Come on!

24:34.172 --> 24:37.075
♪ Right now ♪
[Song ends]

24:37.175 --> 24:39.077
Yeah, we love you.
Appreciate you.

24:39.177 --> 24:42.080
Nawaz: Each artist you heard
from in this program has

24:42.180 --> 24:45.250
a unique sound and story,
but what brings them together

24:45.350 --> 24:47.619
is their belief
in the power of music

24:47.719 --> 24:51.022
to honor their past
and inspire the future.

24:51.122 --> 24:53.525
Join the conversation
on our website:

24:57.128 --> 25:00.866
and find more canvas art stories
on the "PBS Newshour."

25:00.965 --> 25:02.934
I'm Amna Nawaz.
For all of us

25:03.034 --> 25:05.437
at the "PBS NewsHour,"
thanks for joining me

25:05.537 --> 25:08.573
here on "Beyond the Canvas."
We'll see you soon.

25:10.742 --> 25:12.143
Next time
on "Beyond the Canvas,"

25:12.143 --> 25:13.545
our profile
of Oscar-nominated

25:13.645 --> 25:15.981
Mexican actress
Yalitza Aparicio...

25:16.080 --> 25:18.483
Translator: I enjoy fighting
for my indigenous community

25:18.583 --> 25:20.719
because I feel proud
of who I am.

25:20.818 --> 25:23.555
Nawaz: along with some
of the best cultural creators

25:23.655 --> 25:25.524
in that country.
Stay tuned for

25:25.623 --> 25:28.660
a special episode
featuring the arts of Mexico.

25:31.128 --> 25:32.130
Common:
♪ Hands to the heavens, ♪

25:32.230 --> 25:33.231
♪ No man, no weapon ♪

25:33.231 --> 25:34.232
♪ Formed against yes ♪

25:34.232 --> 25:35.967
♪ Glory is destined ♪

25:36.067 --> 25:38.370
♪ Every day, women ♪
and men become legends ♪

25:38.469 --> 25:41.973
♪ Sins that go against our skin ♪
become blessings ♪

25:42.073 --> 25:43.875
♪ The movement is ♪
the rhythm to us ♪

25:43.975 --> 25:46.278
♪ Freedom is like ♪
religion to us ♪

25:46.377 --> 25:49.681
♪ Justice is ♪
juxtapositionin' us ♪

25:49.781 --> 25:52.284
♪ Justice for all just ♪
ain't specific enough ♪

25:52.383 --> 25:55.186
♪ One son died, his spirit ♪
is revisitin' us ♪

25:55.286 --> 25:57.622
♪ Truant livin' livin' in us, ♪
resistance is us... ♪

26:00.892 --> 26:02.093
Announcer: This program
was made possible by

26:02.093 --> 26:05.296
contributions to your PBS
station from viewers like you.

26:05.296 --> 26:06.130
Thank you.