In addition to being one of the great American thinkers and writers, James Baldwin was also an expat (he left the United States in his early 20’s and would return to report and host lectures, but lived the rest of his life in France, Switzerland, and Turkey) and lover of American arts. He counted Miles Davis, Sidney Poitier, Marlon Brando, and Josephine Baker, among many others, as friends; fellow expat Nina Simone considered him a mentor on her own journey of activism and protest.

So this playlist¹ is a fitting and joyous encounter, compiled by Hammer Museum curator Ikechúkwú Onyewuenyi from photographs of Baldwin’s record collection courtesy of La Maison Baldwin.

Perfect background music while reading Sonny’s Blues or even while watching Baldwin coolly and expertly dismantle William Buckley.