In an interview with Beats 1, Lady Gaga explains how the political climate has influenced her art and inspired her new song in tribute to Trayvon Martin titled, “Angel Down.”
“It’s a very extreme year and a very high, stressful time; people of all ages I think are feeling it. Especially with politics and with society – the way things have been moving, the chaos in America. This was a lot of my inspiration on the album,” said Gaga.
It was the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012 that launched the Black Lives Matter movement after his killer was acquitted of murder charges. Gaga said she wrote “Angel Down” as both an acknowledgement and response to “the epidemic of young African-Americans being murdered in this country.”
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Though the artist struggled with her authority to speak on the issue as a White American, it was the testimony of her fans that ultimately encouraged her to speak out.
“How can I not say something? How could I possibly make an album about twerking my ass in the club?” asked the singer. “In my mind, I can’t reckon it. It feels empty. It feels irrelevant.”
“Angel Down,” a track off the album Joanne out October 21st, is now available for streaming, but Gaga sampled some of the lyrics in her interview:
“Doesn’t everyone belong in the arms of the sacred/ Why do we pretend we’re wrong has our young courage faded/ Shots were fired down the street by the church where we used to meet/ Angel down, angel down, why do people just stand around”
