Will Rise
An original composition produced and written in response to racial violence and the fight for Black lives. With spoken word from Ella Baker, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Nina Simone, and Malcolm X.
Listen and read at Songs of the Lotus. Mix and mastering: Mostafa Zaghloul.
This song was born on May 1st, 2020 — in the wake of reports of discrimination faced by Black individuals in China during the pandemic. It took on new, urgent weight with everything that followed.
The composition centers on affirming Black identity as inherently valuable: a meditation on resilience and collective strength. It draws on spoken word from civil rights voices — Ella Baker, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Nina Simone, and Malcolm X.
My hope is that one day this becomes a historical artifact — a reflection on a movement — rather than a current call to action.