Go to → Shemekia Copeland

The true, torn-from-history song -- the lead track from Shemekia Copeland's new album, Uncivil War -- tells of the very last slave ship to arrive in America (in Mobile Bay, Alabama) in 1859, 50 years after the slave trade was banned. The ship—burned and sunk by the captain to destroy the evidence—was finally discovered in 2019. The song—featuring Alabama native Jason Isbell playing ferocious blues guitar—is a hair-raising look at living American history delivered with power, tenderness, and jaw-dropping intensity. The video, put together by Copeland and her team, underlines the undying legacy of racism that has sparked protests around the world.