Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Louis Farrakhan’s New Album Features Stevie Wonder, Common, Snoop Dogg

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan just dropped a seven-CD album series — and some of your favorite artists may be on it.

Farrakhan, who has been accused of anti-Semitism for decades, released his “Let’s Change the World” musical box set late last month after years of planning and recording. Farrakhan himself plays on the album along with may prominent artists, include Stevie Wonder, Snoop Dogg and Common, according to Nation of Islam publications.

Common’s record label, Snoop Dogg’s agency and Wonder’s press representative did not immediately return requests for comment.

Farrakhan is an accomplished violinist who has frequently spoken about the power of music. The “Let’s Change the World” collection, which also includes a commemorative book and a behind-the-scenes DVD, is available for sale for $260.

According to The Final Call, the Nation of Islam’s newspaper, the album features 45 songs in a variety of genres, including classical, gospel, jazz, folk, opera, rap, reggae and calypso.

Farrakhan boasted last October that Snoop Dogg rapped the title track. Snoop Dogg joined the Nation of Islam in 2009 and spoke at the movement’s annual Saviours’ Day event, though he later drifted into Rastafarianism and for a time was known as “Snoop Lion.”

Other artists who reportedly appear in the album include singer Chaka Khan, rapper Rick Ross, reggae artist Damian Marley (Bob Marley’s son) and Stephanie Mills, who originated the role of Dorothy in the Broadway show “The Wiz.”

Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic views has been the subject of severe press scrutiny after ties between him and a leader of the Women’s March were reported.

In an op-ed responding to the accusations that Farrakhan is anti-Semitic, The Final Call noted that Snoop Dogg, Common, Chaka Khan and others were on his album.

“Surely these individuals would not associate with a hater,” they wrote.

Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.