By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire
Credit: NNPA
Music lovers, prepare yourself for one of the most anticipated comebacks in history.
The legendary Grammy Award winner Stephanie Mills has announced her new single, “Let’s Do the Right Thing,” an anthem not unlike Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?” of 50 years ago.
Her long-awaited new music drops appropriately on Saturday, June 19 – Juneteenth. “It’s all me. I am not doing this through a [traditional] record label,” Mills told the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) in an exclusive interview.
The NNPA is the trade association that represents the hundreds of African American- owned newspapers and media companies that comprise the Black Press of America.
Parts of the icon’s special interview, including the debut of Mills’ new single, can be seen on Friday, June 25, at 1PM EST, as part of the NNPA’s Virtual 2021 National Convention. The NNPA will air the full interview at 5 p.m. EST on its “Fiyah!” broadcast.
The broadcast will air over several of the Black Press of America’s social media channels, including Facebook. com/BlackPressUSA/ Videos, YouTube.com/c/ BlackPressUSATV, and Twitter @BlackPressUSA.
Mills’ team said the new music brings fans back to her traditional soulful sound infused with an empowering message that challenges the listener “to take an introspective look at oneself to create love and peace.”
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Mills has proven to be a treasure embedded in music’s fabric.
Her illustrious career spans a half-century.
The singer, whose voice knows no peers, began her professional career at the age of 11 with a Broadway run of “Maggie Flynn,” followed by the leading role of Dorothy in the Tony Award-Winning play “The Wiz.”
After conquering the Great White Way, Mills recorded some of the most memorable songs in music history, including “Never Knew Love Like This,” “Putting a Rush on Me,” “Power of Love,” and “Home.”
Along with her singing and acting career, Mills is a lifelong social justice and civil rights activist and philanthropist. She has earned multiple Grammy, American Music, and NAACP Image awards.
“My new music is a reflection of the sadness and heartache I’ve been feeling over the pandemic and George Floyd and the systemic racism that plagues our people,” Mills asserted.
“Let’s Do the Right Thing’” is my personal plea for all people to rise up and come together,” she said.
The single is reminiscent of Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” where the late Motown great crooned disenchantment over the state of America and its involvement in the Vietnam War.
Mills’ new song also decries the state of America, most notably the police killings of African Americans like George Floyd, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor and many other Black people.
Along with releasing her new single, Mills will debut the accompanying music video and perform her Billboard hit “Home” from The Wiz during the Juneteenth Celebration in New York with the historic Riverside Church and Middle Collegiate Church.
“The evening will embody Juneteenth’s spirit of freedom and celebration of two Black-led faith institutions historically and presently combined to do transformative justice work,” her team noted.
“Let’s Do the Right Thing” became available on all streaming platforms beginning on June 19.
