In response to the fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, Jay-Z has released his first new single in three years, Spiritual.
Jay dropped the new single Thursday, with an accompanying statement, noting that he began working on it “a while ago.” The rapper goes on to say that someone encouraged him to release it following the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, but he says he knew Brown’s death “wouldn’t be the last” and that he’s “saddened and disappointed in THIS America,” according to Billboard.com.
Earlier on Thursday, Jay Z’s wife, Beyonce, also released a statement calling for action in the wake of the fatal police shootings: ‘We are sick and tired of the killings of young men and women in our communities.”
Listen to Jay z’s new track here.