Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., an obvious reference to the NASCAR driver, is a Detroit based band composed of Daniel Zott and Joshua Epstein. In June of last year, they released their debut album It’s a Corporate World, which included a few notable hits: “Morning Thought,” “Simple Girl,” and “We Almost Lost Detroit.” Just recently, the band released the music video for “We Almost Lost Detroit,” and it certainly piqued my interest.

“We Almost Lost Detroit” is a cover song originally performed by the late Gil Scott Heron. When Heron wrote the song, it was originally about a nuclear reactor malfunction, however, the imagery of the track can easily relate to the Detroit of today. Although there wasn’t necessarily a nuclear meltdown, Detroit was hit very hard this past recession and nearly collapsed due to the rippling effects of a sinking economy.

The video itself (shown below) is a compilation of people lip-syncing while working. It’s clear that the band wanted to place emphasis on the workers of Detroit, to showcase their strength and determination, and to capture their hearty work-ethic– a work-ethic that is more than capable of re-establishing a viable economic condition in the state of Detroit.

Polished and catchy, the track will have you singing along in minutes. If you enjoyed this, the We Almost Lost Detroit EP (vinyl format only, for now (I hope)) is out on 4/21, Record Store Day, with a Homeless Tracks favorite– Stepdad– featured on a remix of “We Almost Lost Detroit.”  Enjoy!

“We Almost Lost Detroit” by Gil Scott Heron

“We Almost Lost Detroit” by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

• It’s a Corporate World on iTunes
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. on Facebook
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. on Twitter

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