From over at
Proper Talks we've got Anthony Hamilton covering Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come." Of course nothing swings like the original--and that isn't even Sam Cooke's best song. But I digress, it's amazing how Obama used language that has specific meaning in the African-American context, and blew it out to encompass everyone. The paraphrasing of Malcolm is a gimme. But beyond that, the word "change" has a specific connotation among us historically, from Cooke to Haki Mahdubuti's "A Poem to Compliment Other Poems." Anyway, Hamilton ain't Cooke (who is?) but he's got the touch.
See web-only content:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2008/12/the-color-of-change/6486/
Anthony Hamilton - "A Change Is Gonna Come" from
levi maestro on
Vimeo.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2008/12/the-color-of-change/6486/
