Penned by Rebecca and produced by veteran jazz/R&B artist/producer Jason Miles, the track is a masterful work of self-reflection that urges us all to look in the mirror at what we as a society have become. The soulful, pop-blues flavored ballad finds the 23 year old New York based singer/songwriter lamenting the reality of “people dying in the street” and wondering, “Have we lost our humanity?” – all while hoping, praying and believing things will someday be okay, even amidst the possibility that the cycle of dying, grieving and lying to ourselves about the problem may continue. In an extraordinary breakdown section, Rebecca hits the heart of her message about hypocrisy and inaction after each fresh tragedy: “They keep sending thoughts and prayers/When’s it time to really care? When we’re dead and in despair?/Silence is the greatest harm…”

Rebecca, a popular performer on the NYC jazz club circuit who released her pop, jazz and Brazilian influenced debut EP What We Had last year, began the song in 2016 as part of a workshop assignment at a vocal jazz camp run by Grammy winning group New York Voices. Her initial inspiration was the many police shootings associated with Black Lives Matter – and she completed it after the Valentine’s Day 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, where her cousin is a student.

The hard-hitting, visually compelling video, directed by Rebecca’s sister Stephanie Angel, juxtaposes clips of Rebecca walking alone in a cemetery with brighter shots of her playing piano and experiencing nature, along with images of appearing, then disappearing young children at play. “The kids represent the fragility of humanity, the reality that we can be there one minute and the next we’re not,” says Rebecca.

“I left both the song and the video open to interpretation, to inspire people to think about how it is that we allow such violence to become a normal part of our lives,” she adds. “It’s easy to feel helpless, vulnerable and depressed when these things keep happening. I hope my song and video can help counter this with a sign of hope – and maybe even empower others to speak out as well and find ways to take action and contribute something meaningful to the cultural conversation. As I realized when I learned my cousin was at school the day of the Parkland shooting, we are truly all in this together.” - MI2N