EMA

"Black Boys on Mopeds" (Sinéad O'Connor cover)

BY Alex HudsonPublished Mar 11, 2015

Here's the latest in the long string of musical works inspired by the political upheaval in Ferguson, MO. It comes from electronic pop experimenter EMA, who covered Sinéad O'Connor's politically charged 1990 track "Black Boys on Mopeds."

EMA presented this song — which, like the Ferguson riots, was inspired by the death of a black man who was targeted by police — in a unique Christmas-themed multimedia site complete with a crackling fire and falling snow. Her piano version is a little slower and more atmospheric than O'Connor's acoustic guitar original, but the tone is similarly mournful.

Singer Erika M. Anderson explained the origins of the song with the following statement [via Stereogum]:

Hi,

I recorded this version of the Sinead O'Connor song "Black Boys On Mopeds" during the winter, before Christmas. I did it late at night during a power outage, straight onto the laptop in a cold house filled with candles.

I meant to release it over the holidays but for multiple reasons it just didn't happen. Now an investigative report by the DOJ has confirmed a history and pattern of racially-based discrimination and harassment amongst the law enforcement of Ferguson, MO.

I've chosen to leave the "season's greetings" motif unchanged, even though I consider this issue to be ongoing.

EMA


Check it out below.

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