Now Playing
Kevin Mazur/BBMA2020/Getty Images for dcpNineties singing group En Vogue performed their poignant single, “Free Your Mind,” at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards Wednesday night. The Funky Divas single peaked at #14 on Billboard’s Radio Songs chart in 1992.
Member Terry Ellis tells ABC Audio the song speaks to the group’s personal encounters with discrimination.
“‘Free Your Mind’ was about our real [and] personal experiences of racial discrimination,” she tells ABC Audio. “I’ve always felt that through our music and being able to have an opportunity to stand on a platform, where so many people are listening to us, we’ve always wanted to make sure we had something of substance to say, something that’s going to be uplifting, enlightening and empowering to our people.”
“Free Your Mind” also addresses sexism and the attacks against women — a subject Terry says En Vogue has “countless conversations” about in regards to recent happenings today.
“I mean we are constantly texting and talking almost everyday about what’s going on,” Ellis said. “I have friends that I speak with, I feel their fear [and] the pain of what’s going on because they have sons. They have [Black] kids. Again, we as Black women are not exempt clearly.”
“[There’s] Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, and many more. So we know we’re not exempt either,” Ellis continues. “It’s a real concern, a real fear that has to be addressed. So we’ll be getting our feet on the ground at some point.”
In April, En Vogue celebrated their 30th anniversary with an expanded version of their debut album, Born to Sing.
By Rachel George
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
