Southern rapper Lawrence Matthews commemorates his ancestors on “Once More & Again” featuring Idi and Teco. In the video, he plays a pastor and there are shots of people living their daily lives, baptism, and a funeral procession. The single is from his forthcoming album, Between Mortal Reach & Posthumous Grip. He stated his intentions for the song in a press release.
“Written and recorded in February 2022, this song visually feels like a funeral procession in New Orleans to me. It’s also just a song that honors the mountains of lost black folks here. Generations and generations of enslaved folks, farmers, everyday black folks that have lived and died on this land for me to be able to walk it.”
Matthews directed the video with his brother Martin Matthews. He previously shared “Limelight Honey” and last year he released “Green Grove (Our Loss.)” The Memphis rapper recorded three albums as Don Lifted before switching to his birth name. “Once More & Again (Our Mourning)” is a funky dirge with a striking visual. Matthews honors those who came before him and in the process of doing so keeps them alive in a world where Black lives are too easily dismissed and forgotten.
