Shamir’s music has not always been explicitly political, but it has surely always been inspiringly rebellious. That spirit runs through the celebratory fuck-the-haters dance-funk of his debut “Rachet,” as well as his subsequent abandonment of industry pressures when he turned towards the historically white-straight-male dominated world of raw indie rock

Eric Garner was killed by New York police on July 17, 2014. Officer Daniel Pantaleo put Garner in a chokehold. He cried out, “I can’t breathe!” The officers involved in apprehending him showed no mercy, and his death was captured on video. A grand jury on Staten Island refused to