f*ck the fourth: a playlist

As the recent flap over Nike’s recall of sneakers meant to commemorate July Fourth with the Betsy Ross flag on them indicates, Black people in America have a complicated relationship with patriotism and the expressions thereof. That’s because we’ve historically had a complicated relationship with the U.S. itself. From slavery to second-class citizenship made manifest in Jim Crow, gerrymandering, redlining, voter suppression, and police violence, America’s made it difficult to love her as unconditionally as some of our white counterparts do.

This source of pain has often been a source of inspiration for Black musicians pondering the paradox of living in a place — having roots there, paying taxes there, fighting for it in the military — but still being subject to its injustices. With this in mind, we’ve made a playlist to soundtrack these contradictory, but no less strong, feelings. Featuring songs from everyone from Bad Brains to Madison McFerrin and genres ranging from rap to rock to R&B we’re providing a punk alternative to your usual cookout classics.