Matthew King is an artist I’ve written about before and will probably write about again, as well as his band, TapRoots. King loves hard and it plays out in his music. Not only in his global and intricate grooves, but in the artists he works with and the choices he makes of how to use his music. Liberation and community are at the heart of everything he does. Fred Ho, the late composer, baritone saxophonist, author and activist, knew King as an activist and organizer in New York City, and referred to King as “the real deal.” Fred used such words very sparingly. Gaining his respect wasn’t easy.
King’s music functions not only as a joyful dance vibe, or a tool for reflection, but as an act of resistance. My father raised me to be discerning about who I let into my life: “Tell me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are.” So right he was. King keeps company with artists who love music, crave justice and use their impressive talents to bring some love and human connection to their audiences. The TapRoots musicians on King’s latest track, Get Free!, are Matthew King, vocals, guitars and percussion; Eleazer Martinez, drums; Garret Sawyer, bass; Jessica Torres, Choc’late Allen and Kaihla Laurent, vocals; Kai Sandoval, Danny Flam and Morgan Price, horns; and Darby Wolf, keyboard.
King’s music embraces a diversity of styles and his sound and message reveal an idealism that could well be on the endangered list as social isolation, mutual suspicion and cynicism rise like the silos that hold too much, embrace too little and exist to segregate us from the unified power of collective action. King’s consistent, but more gracefully stated, message feels like a good: to hell with the dominating patriarchy! As an artist and as a human, King will not allow the theft of his optimism, idealistic resistance and love for humanity.
I personally find this song healing and it makes me say aloud to those who have the privilege and ability to do so — “Fcuk it! Speak up or get out. Stop looking for safe spaces to speak your truth — if it’s really true — dammit just say it. Truth isn’t meant for whispering.” Besides, those so-called safe spaces are on the endangered list, too. For example, how many keep calling the genocide before their eyes alleged or a conflict? Or use some other euphemism? Supreme Court Justices are a trading commodity for the filthy rich and violate our freedoms with impunity; Project 2025 looms over us; and we’re an inch away from living inside the Handmaid’s Tale.
As of this writing, Get Free! is out on all music platforms. On my first listening, I had to dance, no matter how tired I was that day. The music just kept unfolding until I heard my inner voice say — “This is his best yet — let’s get free, ¡carajo!”
Here’s what King has to tell us:
MG: How would you describe your latest work, “Get Free”?
MK: Get Free is a call-to-action in a world gone mad. The lyrics urge us all to “Get Free” and move with intention into this new era. The song’s lyrics speak directly to power and the transformations that are at hand. It’s social commentary with a funk backdrop, laced with intricate horn lines and soaring harmonies to inspire the desire to move, to dance.
You say you want to rule the world
well this is our world too
(you) say you be boy and you be girl
guess what? that joke’s on you
(you) say pick your side: black or white
like that’s the only way to do
you tell us if we play the game we’ll have a good life
well I say your ruling days are through
MG: What was the inspiration for writing it?
MK: I was inspired by my students while I was a teacher at PVPA, (Pioneer Valley Performing Arts), and the ways that they were embracing new ways of being, thinking, and relating to each other, the planet, and the politics of self that were refreshingly forward-thinking. Although I was their teacher for seventeen years, they very much transitioned into being some of the most powerful teachers that I’ve had in my life. The song is dedicated to them and the new world that they will undoubtedly build as they grow to adulthood.
MG: What was the musical inspiration?
MK: As far as the music goes, this song is also very much a love song of gratitude to one of my many musical mentors, Prince. Over the years I have been inspired by Prince’s message of transgressive identity as well as his wide range of funky musical mastery. When he passed away in 2016, I was devastated and took it upon myself to put together a show, honoring him with my students at the time. Writing out all of those parts and the horn lines, specifically, made me appreciate even more his genius, and his creative and compositional touch has been on much of what I’ve done musically since then. Get Free is very much a reflection of his influence on me musically, as well as many of the Funk greats throughout the years, including James Brown, Questlove, Curtis Mayfield, Me’Shell Ndegéocello, Gil Scott-Heron, and countless others.
MG: There is so much in our lives that prompt and nurture artistic creation and expression — it’s seldom just one thing or another, but often a series of events or experiences. What are other aspects of your constellation of inspiration?
MK: Certainly, my many years as an activist and community organizer fighting for the rights of the disenfranchised and oppressed have been a major influence, along with my aforementioned students. Working with and in various communities to end poverty, mass incarceration, police brutality, oppression against black and brown people, the LGBTQIA+ community, women’s rights movements, and working for climate justice have given me a perspective that without struggle/work there can be no change. The way that I see young people reimagining a new world has been greatly inspiring to me, and I look forward to continuing to stand side-by-side with them as we move towards this new future.
MG: How does this song fit into the rest of TapRoot’s répertoire?
MK: Interestingly, this song is both related to and is a slight departure from the rest of TapRoot’s repertoire. So much of what we have done in the past has drawn on various Afro-diasporic traditions and, most notably, Afro Cuban folkloric and dance music. With the song being much more of a straight ahead Funk-dance number, it really is more of a showcase of how we are interpreting these North American Afro-diasporic, musical and cultural forms. There is a small Latin breakout in the middle because, well, I just can’t help myself.
MG: Why release it as a single and not a part of a larger album?
MK: They say timing is everything and it just felt with this insane election coming up, climate change being at a breaking point, and the police still gunning down people in the streets, and people generally feeling disempowered, songs like this are needed more than ever these days. I wanted to get it out as soon as possible, especially in time for this election, because I know that in these dire times people can often feel very alone. This song is me screaming from a mountain top — You are not alone! We are with you! You are strong, beautiful and resilient, and together, we can make a change!
MG: Why do an “Extended dance remix?”
MK: Ha! To be honest, the extended dance remix IS the song itself! The shorter single version is whittled down for radio or short-attention-streaming consumption. Part of what TapRoots does best is take listeners on a journey with many musical twists and turns, and I really wanted to showcase each member of the band or at least each section of the band as the song progressed. So the horns get their moment to shine, then the keyboards, singers, and drummer each get their moment. That is always how I imagined doing this because it resonates with the message that no one person can make a change, and that we are all in it together. So in that spirit, this song showcases all of the individual fingers of the TapRoots band that when brought together gets raised as a unified fist and force for good.
MG: What do you see as the role of music in political and cultural discourse?
MK: To me, music has always been an essential and necessary aspect of life. It is the way a community and a culture breathe together. It cannot be removed from culture or community and is often a reflection of the politics of the time. Get Free is both an anthem to the historical moment we are living in as well as a reflection of the changes that I am seeing around us, especially with regard to young people embracing boldly gender identity and racial identity in ways that were much more segregated and underground in previous years. This also struck me as something that was reflected in Prince’s earlier work: creating a transgressive future based on new imaginings of who we are and can be in the world.
Listen to the song and pass it along to those you love and those who need love: https://taproots.hearnow.com/
