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Sunny War Has A Message For The 'Orange Man'

In "Orange Man" and its accompanying video, Sunny War never once minces words or actions. Combining performance art with potent and direct lyrics, the Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter and guitarist attempts to not only understand our current man in charge, but also the very nation that produced him.

"Orange Man" begins with a militaristic cadence of snare drum and triangle (courtesy of Harlan Steinberger), peppered with Sunny War's rhythmic guitar. The video's opening moments show a twirling Trump — actually collaborator Aroyn Davis in a Trump mask — replete with superhero cape and American flag jumpsuit, against the overlaying audio of some of the many vapid things the President has actually said while in office, including my personal favorite: "I think I've done more for the Black community than any other president."

Sunny War's vocal delivery is understated throughout; juxtaposed against the audio of Trump's lies and hatred, it lends her a wry sense of authority and command.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Shannon J. Effinger has been a freelance arts journalist for more than a decade. Her writing on all things jazz and music regularly appears in Pitchfork, Bandcamp, Jazziz, Jazzwise, and Downbeat. As of the fall of 2020, her arts coverage can also be found in The New York Times and The Washington Post; the latter features her Sunday arts cover story on Marshall Allen, the longtime leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra.
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