We Can Say N.. (1979)

Extremely rare vinyl copy of late 70's funk jam by Shawn Luther King and The Boulevard. This party anthem was almost lost to history after writer and performer Shawn Luther King was assassinated in 1981 for preaching love. Modern American culture was flourishing at this time, while many social tensions leftover from the civil rights movement still remained. The most talked about problem was known as the "n-word" controversy. As a social rights activist, Shawn sought to use his music to bring unity while also fighting against oppression of free speech. Shawn believed that the answer to unwanted speech was not censorship or more oppression, but rather more speech. Shawn used this song to help his brothers and sisters to stop being angry and offended, and to accept letting others use the n word. He believed it made much more sense to help the small minority of the population let go of past grievances with music and humor, rather than oppress the majority of the population by attempting to regulate and police their free speech. Shawn and The Boulevard toured almost the entire country in the summer of 1980 playing this eight minute long jam as an encore at every show. Some say Shawn personally handed out over three hundred thousand n-passes in only three weeks. In an interview Shawn was asked why this song was so long, to which he responded quote "Everyone knows it takes about eight minutes for a brother to calm down and catch his breath after hearing a white guy say n.."