By Robyn Collins
Living Colour has recorded a cover of Notorious B.I.G.’s “Who Shot Ya.’ The band was inspired to remake the song, which they have been performing live for several years, after the continued reports of gun violence and police brutality towards African-Americans.
Related: Living Colour’s Vernon Reid on Public Enemy’s Rock Hall Induction : They Changed the Game
Living Colour will release a new EP called Mixtape on September 9, which will feature a collection of remixes of Living Colour version of “Who Shot Ya,” according to Pitchfork.
Mixtape includes a remix from producer Andre Betts, with guest verses featuring Public Enemy’s Chuck D, the Roots’ Black Thought, Pharoahe Monch, Prodigal Sunn, and Kyle Mansa.
“Our version of ‘Who Shot Ya’ was initially an organic outgrowth of pure fandom for the work of the brilliant Christopher Wallace,” said Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid in a statement. [Vocalist] Corey [Glover] would frequently sing the song during soundcheck, so we worked it up. But tragically, Biggie’s question has taken on new and urgent significance over the last year.”
“The amount of people who die on a daily basis because of gun violence is unacceptable in a civilized society,” he continued. “The disproportionate use of deadly force in communities of color is equally unacceptable in a civilized society. It inspired the idea to reach out to some of the most provocative voices in hip-hop to invite them to add their words to the track. We all feel paralyzed as to how we can meaningfully affect change, but at the least we can keep our voices raised in solidarity and not let this plight fade into the background until it happens again.”
