GRAMMY-winning electronic music producer & DJ, Sharam arrived October 30 with a new single titled ‘Exodus (Pin Drop Mix)’, a reworking of his 2019 techno banger for his Washington, DC-based label Yoshitoshi. The song features James Baldwin’s remarks from his famous 1965 debate with William F Buckley at Cambridge University regarding race in America, bringing together speech and poetry over house grooves. ‘Dance music is and always has been about inclusion and acceptance. I wanted to celebrate that by shining light on James Baldwin’s legacy as a writer and civil activist,‘ Sharam writes in this exclusive, personal letter.

Sharam immigrated to the United States from Iran when he was a child, and learned about the Black American experience through house music. His first introduction to the speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. and poetry of Maya Angelou were through spoken word house tracks.

“Little did I know that those songs were serving as an educational device for me and so many others.” – Sharam

Now, reimagining his 2019 track ‘Exodus’ which premiered at 2019’s Coachella Festival, he hopes to bring the same awareness to a new generation of people across the globe, at a time that seems most necessary.

Proceeds from the track will be going to Hampshire College’s James Baldwin Scholars Program, which supports students from under-resourced and underperforming schools who have great potential.