Artist: The Suffers
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Song: “How Do We Heal”
Release Date: February 16, 2022
Label: Missing Piece Records
In Their Words: “‘How Do We Heal’ started as a therapy exercise for me. During The Suffersâ first years of hard touring, I found myself immersed in the new trend of black people being murdered by the police on livestreams. One moment, Iâd be scrolling through memes and cute puppy videos; next, Iâd see the murders of Philando Castile and Eric Garner back to back. No warning. No mercy. Just another black life stolen in front of us in 4K. The impact of watching this was enough to make me sick for days, and I honestly felt unsafe most days on the road. I found myself constantly checking to see if justice for any of these victims would ever be delivered, and in many cases it never was.
“I went back to therapy to try and make sense of the emotions I was feeling, but the trauma I was trying to heal from was exacerbated by the deaths of Korryn Gaines, Atatiana Jefferson, Breonna Taylor and so many more. ‘How Do We Heal’ isnât just a song, itâs a question. How are we supposed to heal when the real causes of the pain and abuse are never really addressed? How do we heal when we arenât being listened to? How do we heal when those that can end the oppression do nothing to stop it? I donât know, but it hasn’t stopped me from trying to heal anyway.
“This song was written in 2019, on a sunny fall afternoon in New Orleans with my friend John Michael Rouchell. He played a bunch of different beats for me, but as soon as I heard the demo, the words poured out of me. We recorded the entire song part by part in summer 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, and it took almost seven months to finish. I knocked out all the choral parts in my bedroom studio that fall, and it was topped off by the final vocal additions of Son Little and a spoken word piece by Bryce The Third. I can honestly say that recording this song was one of the most emotionally intense processes I’ve ever been a part of, and Iâll always be grateful for it. This song is for anyone that has felt helpless after witnessing the loss of so much life. May it comfort you, and encourage you to do more for yourself and others.” — Kam Franklin, The Suffers
Photo Credit: Agave Bloom Photography
