Bellringer

Description

In linguistics, “lingua franca� is a term for a language used to communicate across cultures. For instance, the lingua franca of the Internet is typically English; in post-colonial Africa, French is often the lingua franca. For Athens, Georgia-based rapper, linguist, activist, parent, and politician Mariah Parker (they/them), aka Linqua Franqa, music is the tool they use to communicate – and educate – across cultural boundaries. Parker is a linqua franqa for the people.

Weaving a rich tapestry of hip-hop lyricism and neo-soul hooks, Parker imbues every song with a sense of urgency and keen social consciousness. This is particularly evident on the forthcoming sophomore album Bellringer, produced by Parker, Reindeer Games, and Joel Hatstat and featuring guest spots from Jeff Rosenstock, Of Montreal, Kishi Bashi, Dope KNife, Wesdaruler, and Angela Davis. On Bellringer, Parker does not hold back, touching on issues like police brutality, social media addiction, mental health, anti-capitalism, labor organizing, among other topics ripped from the headlines.

As a county commissioner serving the poorest district in Athens, Georgia, Parker is well-versed in the forces that threaten vulnerable communities. But as the pandemic took hold and threw the world into a constant state of tragedy and unease, Parker began writing the songs that would shape Bellringer as a way to “process the crisis we were living through, and then use that as a form of mass political education.� As Parker puts it, Bellringer is about taking the “aesthetic pleasure of hip-hop to educate people about why things are so bad and what can we do about it.�

The name Bellringer, which follows Parker’s 2018 debut album Model Minority, reflects Parker’s love of language play and double-entendres. “I thought of the word bellringer in two ways,� they explain. “A bellringer is a jab to the face that knocks someone out completely, but it also invokes someone ringing the bell to sound the alarm about something.�

Parker started out their artistic journey scribbling notes in their journal during high school anatomy class and traveling with their mother, a touring gospel singer. By the time they got to college in Asheville, North Carolina, Parker started exploring slam poetry and freestyling. “There was these white boys in my dorm that would have Freestyle Fridays and freestyle together,� Parker says. “And I was like, ‘what the?’ Like, I'm not gonna sit back here with my notebook full of sick bars and not show these cats what's up.�

Parker has arguably spent their entire career to date doing just that. Channeling issues-minded lyricists like Noname, Jay Electronica, Meek Mill, and Immortal Technique on the clattering, modern day labor anthem “Wurk,� Parker directly addresses frontline employees and calls for organization in the face of exploitation. “The pandemic saw the greatest transfer of wealth from the working class to billionaires, perhaps in the history of humanity,� Parker elaborates. “I'