THIS LOVE THING 

“explores social justice themes through the turbulent & triumphant expressions of love.”

Drea d’Nur is a celebrated artist who has been perfecting her eloquent blend of gospel, soul and blues, while curating shows on some of the most renowned stages in the country for over two decades. Better known as a Chicago South Side community organizer and founding director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN,) Rami Nashashibi makes his public debut as an artist, songwriter and musician on this album.

The two assembled appearances by friends from their activism and artistic circles including Maimouna Youssef (aka Mumu Fresh,) Brother Ali, HBO Def Poetry Jam poet Amir Sulaiman and others. From veteran artist and virtuoso Ronnie Malley on the oud to the stunning strings scored by Rootstock Republic or the soaring gospel choruses from Chicago‘s Trinity United Church of Christ’s Sanctuary Choir, THIS LOVE THING seamlessly transcends artistic boundaries. The album was recorded, mixed, mastered and co-produced in Buffalo, New York by sound engineer Elijah Hooks, a notable talent arising from the often overlooked musical scene emerging from the northern part of the state.

The single ‘Mama Please’ features musician, activist and soon-to-be Louisville Kentucky’s youngest councilman in state history Jecory “1200” Arthur, who both raps and conducts a youth choir on this track while invoking the memory of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The video for this single is dedicated to living activist, mother and former police officer Cariol Horne, who was fired from the Buffalo, New York Police Department and lost her pension for intervening in the chokehold of a handcuffed, unarmed man. The video serves as a call-to-action to pass ‘Cariol’s Law’ across the country, a proposal for legislation to have a mandatory statute on police bystander intervention and protection from retaliation. More information for Cariol’s Law can be found at www.cariolslaw.com.