Rell Be Free - "Paythefeee" from the 2020 self-released album P.T.F.D.

Rell Be Free (real name: Jerrell Davis) is a self-described "musician, underground educator, and multifaceted entrepreneur" from the South End of Seattle. A rapper since the age of 12, Davis utilizes his skills to speak out for social justice. He's the Restorative Justice Director and co-founder of the youth organization WA-BLOC (Washington Building Leaders of Change), serves as a Corner Greeter Coordinator for Rainier Beach, and was named one of Seattle’s Most Influential People bySeattle Magazine in 2018.

"I’m very comfortable with who I am and so I’m not trying to perpetuate a false image," Davis told theSouth Seattle Emerald. "When you front, you’ve got to keep it up and I’m not prepared to keep up a façade. I’d rather keep up who I really am. No matter how popular my music gets, I’ve got to remember that it’s really not about me. Honestly, I use music as art, but I really see music as a tool toward revolution – a way to change the material conditions of our people."

Watch Rell Be Free perform today's Song of the Day from an event held by Decriminalize Seattle. 

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