Jon Batiste

Jon Batiste Proves That Movement Is Medicine In His Euphoric ‘Freedom’ Video

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Academy Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe-winning musician Jon Batiste released his soulful album We Are last month. The multi-hyphenate musician has shared a handful of triumphant visuals alongside his LP and now, Batiste returns with a jubilant video to his funk-forward track “Freedom.”

The colorful visual is an ode to his New Orleans hometown, community, and Black joy. It opens with the singer exiting a vintage car on a busy neighborhood street. As he begins to dance, his happiness is infectious. Eventually, he’s followed by an entire parade of dancers and band players marching down some of New Orleans’ recognizable streets.

In a statement given to Apple Music about some of the themes he explores on We Are, Batiste said:

“I like to use the inspiration from the past and combine it with the things that are in the present to create the future. We’re finally at a point where we’re starting to untangle the way that my grandparents, and even my parents, experienced America. It feels like the culmination in the coming of age of what many generations have built, fought for, and poured into. As heavy as these themes are, the overall message of the album is love, joy, and community. That, and also the power of social revolution, in the sense of what we have to do in the culture to make room for everybody to be able to fully be who they are.”

Watch Batiste’s “Freedom” video above.

We Are is out now via Verve. Get it here.

HER, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, And Jon Batiste Got Big Wins At The 2021 Oscars

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The Academy Awards were last night, so the best in film from the past year was properly honored. Per usual, some of the awards were devoted to music as well, and picking up big wins in those categories were HER, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste.

HER got the Best Original Song win for her Judas And The Black Messiah track “Fight For You” over “Husavik” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga (sung by Will Ferrell and Molly Sandén, the latter of whom Rachel McAdams lip-synced for the film), Celeste’s “Hear My Voice” from The Trial Of The Chicago 7, Leslie Odom Jr.’s “Speak Now” from One Night In Miami, and Lauren Pausini’s “Io Sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead.

Reznor, Ross, and Batiste’s Soul score also picked up a win, in the Best Original Score category, winning over the former two’s score for Mank, as well as Da 5 Bloods, Minari, and News Of The World.

As Billboard notes, these wins were superlative. Reznor, Ross, and Batiste are the first three-member composing team to win Best Original Score in 33 years, following Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne, and Cong Su’s 1987 win for The Last Emperor. Batiste is also just the third Black composer to win in a scoring category, following Prince’s 1984 win for Best Musical Song Score with Purple Rain and Herbie Hancock’s 1986 victory for Best Original Score with ‘Round Midnight.

HER’s victory was also historically significant: For the first time in 35 years, a songwriter or songwriting team won an Oscar in the same awards season that they won a Grammy for Song Of The Year for a different song, as HER’s “I Can’t Breathe” just picked up the Grammy win a few weeks ago.

Find the full list of this year’s Oscar winners here.

The Roots Reveal Their 2021 Jam Session Lineup Including Ari Lennox And Tobe Nwigwe

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Each year around Grammy Week, The Roots hold an annual Jam Session inviting special guests from their endless list of collaborators and connections for a one-of-a-kind live show experience. Unfortunately, with most venues still shut down due to COVID-19 safety precautions, there won’t be a live show this year, but the fact that it’s streaming via Tidal means there’s no capacity limit, and fans from outside of Los Angeles get to “attend” as well. Also, this year, the band partnered with Oculus, granting virtual reality access so it can still feel like you’re front row.

The band revealed this year’s lineup in a press release sharing the details of the new partnerships. Special guests for this year’s event include R&B singers Ant Clemons, Ari Lennox, and Emily King, as well as rapper-producer Tobe Nwigwe and pianist-singer Jon Batiste. Burgeoning country star Brittney Spencer and soul icon Kathy Sledge of the legendary Sledge Sisters will also appear. Clemons is nominated for Best R&B Album for his 2020 debut Happy 2 Be Here, while Batiste has two nominations at this year’s awards.

Ahead of the Jam Session, The Roots have updated their Essentials Playlist on Tidal. You can check that out now, and watch the Roots Jam Session Saturday, March 13 at 6 pm PT / 9 pm ET in-app or via the embed below.