Goapele is a singer/songwriter from the Bay Area. She released her first album in 2001. Since then, she’s released five more albums and collaborated with Snoop Dogg. In 2017, on her album Dreamseeker, she put out the song “Stand.” It was written in the wake of the shooting death of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old black man who was shot and killed while unarmed and handcuffed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit Police officer. The shooting took place in 2009. In this episode, Goapele tells the story of why it took 8 years for her to finish the song.

You can get “Stand” on iTunes.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
The shooting of Oscar Grant
Fruitvale Station, a film by Ryan Coogler about Oscar Grant’s murder.