When Daunte Wright, a 20 year-old Black man, was shot and killed by Kim Potter, a Brooklyn Center police officer, Toussaint Morrison attended and spoke at numerous rallies demanding justice for the young man. In making the nightly trips to hold space outside of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, crowds of protesters were met with tear gas, rubber bullet rounds, and other forms of police brutality. In an homage to that spring of 2021, Morrison reflects on the time spent making evening trips to the memorial and police department as the city descended into a state sanctioned sundown town.
After a storied music career and touring for years, Morrison surfaces a new album, The Very Best of Ricky & Jane, name-dropping his parents in the title with a fleur de lis emblazoned on the cover in solidarity with his birthplace in the Big Easy. The Very Best touts tracks such as ALL SAINTS that tip a cap to his late grandfather who introduced him to playing an instrument, and his Detroit-born father who taught him how to speak at rallies. Following with RIOTS WORK, a metallic street ballad to his involvement in the uprising of his home city of Minneapolis, protesting police brutality and other forms of white supremacy throughout two long years of community action on the heels of police murdering yet another Black man in public with seeming impunity. This new body of work highlights the dichotomy of Morrison’s upbringing, celebrating a life of music and damn good trouble.