Musical artiste Nolan and the all-female reggae band International Women In Reggae have joined forces on the new reggae single Truth B’ Told in time for the 2022 midterm elections on November 8.
The single was officially launched on National Voter Registration Day, Tuesday, September 20, with a new music video across Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube platforms. It is described by singer-songwriter Nolan as “Social commentary and an urgent call to action, in time for one of the most significant midterm elections we will ever see in our lifetime.”
According to the Jewish-born Brooklyn native, Truth B’ Told is essentially both a warning and a wake-up call to voters to take the November 8 midterm election extremely seriously as, in his opinion, “Our very democracy and way of living is now under major threat. The dramatic extent to which truth is under siege by both Republican politicians and supporters of the former president is alarming. When opinions become facts and when truth just no longer matters, we are in a dangerous place. With this song, I’m asking those who are still reasonable and who can impact the election results by voting to really pay attention to where we are and what’s at stake and do something about it before it’s too late. The life you are living now may well depend on it.”
The release of the hard-hitting no-holds-barred song and accompanying video is the result of over 40 years of tenacity, passion, and hard work from an artiste who believes that his time has come.
Born Nolan Myerson to middle-class parents in racially diverse East New York, he found himself attracted to the music of such legends as Aretha Franklin, the Beach Boys, and, in his words, “The two Bobs – Dylan and Marley,” from an early age. The powerful message in the music of songs such as Marley’s Redemption Song, Buffalo Soldier and Get Up Stand Up made a real and lasting impact that would influence his own work in the lyrics of Truth B’ Told decades later.
“I was so concerned about where the country was heading that I decided that I had to do something and that instead of writing songs that I thought people wanted to hear, I needed to write songs about what I wanted to say,” he says. “Truth B’ Told actually started life as a country song called I’m For The USA, but I started to change it to something more proactive in the run-up to the 2020 election and then it evolved further following the January 6 insurrection. Eventually, I decided I would complete and release it in time for the 2022 midterms, to jolt people out of their normal ‘midterm apathy,’ which we now cannot afford with everything that is at stake this November.”
He met International Women in Reggae founder Ariane Wint and the band through mutual musical acquaintances, and it was their involvement that created the reggae-inspired version of the song that exists today.
With several more songs in the pipeline, Nolan is already anticipating the completion of a full album soon, and while he says he still loves rock and roll, he believes that “Reggae is a kind of biological essence that takes over your entire body. And it will always be the backdrop for what I’m trying to create. I will never try to fake a Jamaican accent. But I’ll punctuate my lyrics with the music in such a way that it will fully complete the sound that I’m trying to achieve.”
Truth B’ Told the single is now available on most streaming platforms.
