Right now, I’m listening to the crazy good Nina Simone & Lauryn Hill mash-up album, The Miseducation of Eunice Waymon, from Amerigo Gazaway. It was released back in 2018 and hasn’t lost any of its shine.

It’s incredible.

It’s also free.

I believe the world of music is a better place because of this project and the countless other projects of similar lesser-known artists. Their existence is not guaranteed though. It’s up to each of us to ensure they keep coming.

I’m sure you know who Nina and Lauryn are, but only my close friends will know the producer Amerigo. Those friends will also know that everything they puts out is absolute fire.

They’ve released multiple mash-ups, including Yasiin Bey + Marvin Gaye, Common + Stevie Wonder, Notorious B.I.G + James Brown, and many others.

They also have released many solo instrumental albums and collaborative hip-hop projects. Check out The World Changed and the ridiculously great Christmas Album.

The thing is that most of what they release is, for all intensive purposes, free. Most of it isn’t on Spotify, and even if it is (see here), does anyone except Beyoncé make more than a few pennies from those spins?

I’ve tried to make a point of supporting artists like Amerigo (see their Patreon) and the organizations that support them, like KEXP.

Paying the little guys might not be on your Amazon app or in your usual social feed, so it takes a little intention.

It’s worth the effort.

If you enjoy an artist, if you believe in a cause, if you want the world to be made up of the things you love, support those things however you can or we might just lose them.

Don’t wait, do it now.