Singer-Songwriter Ben Harper On Race, Police Violence And Making Music

On Friday, Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and guitarist Ben Harper releases “Call it What it Is” with his band The Innocent Criminals.

The title song addresses issues of race and police violence that have roiled the African-American community.

“You can’t just sit and watch, can you?” Harper told Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson. “I have been a victim of police brutality on numerous occasions. But twenty, thirty years from now, my kids are going to ask, ‘Hey Pops, what did you do about that when that was going on?’ And I want to be able to look them in the eye and say, ‘I used my voice as a voice in the choir.'”

[Youtube]

Guest

• Ben Harper, singer-songwriter. He tweets @BenHarper.

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