Is It Because I’m Black

Syl Johnson’s raw soul ballad for Twinight Records cuts straight to the bone—a defiant meditation on race and identity that refuses easy answers. Recorded in the early 1970s, Johnson’s voice carries the weight of lived experience over sparse, bluesy arrangements that let every syllable breathe. The track remains a cornerstone of socially conscious soul, its unflinching title and emotional directness still striking decades later.