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Mar 23, 2022 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Sean Dunn

Linqua Franqa is the moniker of Athens, Georgia-based rapper, activist, politician, and songwriter Mariah Parker. In between their work as a country commissioner, activist, and parent, Parker has spent the pandemic crafting their upcoming sophomore record, Bellringer. As Parker describes, in the midst of the upheaval of the pandemic, Bellringer allowed them to “process the crisis we were living through, and then use that as a form of mass political education.”

Bellringer is a dense and thoughtful work, touching on issues of labor exploitation, police violence, anti-capitalism, and parenthood. But while it may have the considered nature of a lecture, it also has the fire and fury of an activist’s polemic, delivered from the lens of someone who has spent their life in the fight for liberation and abolition. Parker fuses together stirring neo-soul melodies and urgent hip hop lyricism, bolstered by guest spots including of Montreal, Jeff Rosenstock, Kishi Bashi, Dope KNife, and Angela Davis.

Parker has already previewed the record with its lead single “Wurk,” along with its title track, “Bellringer.” Today they’re back with another new single “Necessity,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Necessity” opens in unforgettable style, with Parker rapping at a former lover, “Not only do I not love you / You never made me come / I just faked it to shut you up / Not only did I never love you / I fucked your roommate and your bandmate so hard I couldn’t stand straight.” Above an irresistibly catchy bouncing beat, Parker outlines all of the angst, searching, and causal sex that colored their early 20s. Their nimble darting flow is matched by lyrics that are simultaneously hilarious, biting, and soul-baring, all while offering a humanizing look beneath Parker’s strident surface.

As Parker describes, “Necessity’s about the unhealthy ways we respond to stress, depression, and denial, particularly in our early adulthood when we think we’ve grown up but still have no idea who we really are. Bereft of self-understanding and basic adulting skills, my early twenties were buried under unwashed dishes, unpaid bills, and shitty one night stands—and as a political figure, I hoped showing that to people could remind them that it’s okay to fuck up, you’re still worthy of power and able to change the world.”

Check out the song below. Bellringer is due out everywhere on April 22nd via Ernest Jenning Record Co.