{"product_id":"syl-johnson-is-it-because-im-black-grey-marbled-vinyl-7","title":"Syl JOHNSON - Is It Because I'm Black [grey marbled vinyl 7\"]","description":"\u003cp\u003eFormat: limited grey marbled vinyl 7\"\u003cbr\u003eCatalogue No.: P76750\u003cbr\u003eRelease Date: 18 Nov 2025\u003cbr\u003eGenre: Soul\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRecorded in the wake of Dr. King's assassination, this 1969 single from Mississippi-born, Chicago-raised Syl Johnson stands as one of the starkest and most soul-wrenching protest songs ever committed to tape. Built around a slow, smouldering groove and the raw ache of Johnson's vocal, 'Is It Because I'm Black' is less a call to arms than a question hung in the air-resigned, frustrated, defiant. The Pieces of Peace deliver a restrained but deeply felt arrangement: skeletal drums, moody bass, mournful horns, all circling Johnson's voice like a sermon in minor key. What could feel like despair instead pulses with something tougher-dignity, clarity, and a refusal to shut up. The record would later be sampled by Wu-Tang and reinterpreted in Jamaica, but nothing quite matches the grit and sorrow of the original. A landmark in American soul music, whispered more than shouted.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSide 1\u003cbr\u003eA1. \"Is It Because I'm Black\"\u003cbr\u003eSide 2\u003cbr\u003eB1. \"Different Strokes\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"P-Vine","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45878777184412,"sku":"P76750","price":21.83,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0130\/8714\/6043\/files\/1_e7ca26b7-b959-452f-b337-c26328f42a6d.jpg?v=1767365359","url":"https:\/\/www.horizonsmusic.co.uk\/products\/syl-johnson-is-it-because-im-black-grey-marbled-vinyl-7","provider":"Horizons Music","version":"1.0","type":"link"}