Kevin Bronson on June 5th, 2019

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Neo-soul singer Georgia Anne Muldrow and rapper Dudley Perkins (aka Declaime) have been life partners for 13 years. In 2008, the couple founded the SomeOthaShip Connect record label. Now as musical collaborators, they’re back to work as G&D.

Today they unveiled the astral new single, “Where I’m From,” the first from G&D’s forthcoming third album “Black Love & War,” out Aug. 9. The album features production from the duo Mike & Keys (on “Where I’m From”), Oh No and Muldrow, along with vocal contributions from Aloe Blacc, Latoiya Williams, Sean Biggs and Ms. Dezy.

The album takes a no-holds-barred look at black life in America — love, the unity of the black family and the seemingly unending (and perhaps worsening) racial issues that make life feel like war. It’s socially and politically bold but at the same time musically sleek and soulful. “We always have a militant feel,” Muldrow says, “but we wanted people to be able to join in the music and sing along with it. It’s music that makes people come together. It’s a very cultural record.”

Adds Perkins: “We thought, ‘Let’s hit ’em harder, and not give a fuck about the industry.’ … Truth fucks with people. This ain’t just music; it’s a message and a tool to raise up the spirit of the black race.”

Truth can sound fun, though: The album starts with the mock British “English Breakfast,” and the mid-album “187” makes the lyric “death to all oppressors” sound like a nursery rhyme. They share space with the experimental “Slave Revolt Soundtrack,” an imagined vignette, and “Peace Peace,” about police brutality. On a hopeful note, Blacc, Williams and Ms. Dezy join in on “Smile,” an upbeat old-school soul number that itemizes any number of reasons to keep a smile on one’s face. Including: “We all should be smiling just knowing that the devil’s reign is almost through.”

||| Stream: “Where I’m From”

||| Previously: Georgie Anne Muldrow’s “Overload”