Dev Hynes expands on meaning behind new Blood Orange song ‘Sandra’s Smile’

Dev Hynes has annotated new Blood Orange song Sandra’s Smile’ on the lyric website Genius. He explains that the title is a reference to Sandra Bland; a black American woman who died while in police custody earlier this year after originally being pulled over for minor traffic violation.

“I had a somewhat delayed depression upon Sandra’s death. I was hurt and upset and mad instantly, of course… but I think a part of me had my eyes closed, as a form of numbness..a few days later it hit me and i was unconsolable,” wrote Hynes in his annotation notes.

He also spoke about the appropriation of black culture in music, and how it inspired the song. “How many times have you heard of some celebrity whose career is indebted to black people and their love of black people, who then have to put out a public apology for throwing around the term n****, or the other side, become deafly silent when we really need their help or voice?” he wrote.

Listen to ‘Sandra’s Smile’ below.