VIGALANTEE

Vigalantee considers himself to be a social activist, a role that has distinguished his music from that of his peers. While he's commented on a number of issues pertaining to social injustice, Vigalantee felt a particular stirring in regards to the unsolved murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till. The black Till was lynched during a visit to Mississippi relatives for allegedly whistling at a white woman, and his brutal death is credited with starting the Civil Rights Movement that would define the 1950s and 60's. Shortly before Congress enacted the Emmett Till Civil Rights Bill, Vigalantee recorded an eponymous single sharing the teen's story, feeling a connection to Till's journey from Chicago into the deep South. Vigalantee notes that, while popular artists have all name-dropped Emmett Till in their songs, “the true story of Emmett Till has never really been told,” ultimately concluding, “young people don’t know nothing about Emmett Till.” [4]