Some of the lyrics from “Fists of Fury” — “Our time as victims is over / We will no longer ask for justice / Instead we will take our retribution” — have been cited in early write-ups as emblematic of some anger that, perhaps, people didn’t previously perceive in your music. Is that how you experience the song?



When I think of anger I think of a lack of self-control. Anger leads to mistakes. “Fists of Fury” is about being assertive and taking the power that you have. African-American people are asking for justice from a country that has never given it to us, and at a certain point you realize there’s no intention to give you that justice, and no desire for you to have it from those people you are asking for it from — so why ask? If you’re asking someone for justice that means you feel like justice is outside of your control, and I don’t feel like it is.

The U.S. is a uniquely diverse and isolated place. If you live in the middle of the U.S., you’re very far away from any kind of foreign country. In most places in the world the idea of different countries and governments are more in your face, so when I travel and talk to people they seem sympathetic to those on the wrong side of justice here, but people are suffering there as well. Our problems are all of our problems and have been for hundreds of years.

I read that you recorded this album in two and a half weeks. What comes first for you: the concept, or the music?



It wasn’t a deadline. I’m always writing songs, so I picked a bunch with no idea what the album was going to be. It was May 2016, the the middle of tour in the busiest year of my life. We did 200 shows for The Epic. I had to convince everyone to jump in the studio! This topic we’re talking about now was what we were talking about on tour: “Why are all these things happening? Why? Why? Why?” When I started recording I saw connections in the songs that I didn’t see before. It’s who I am and it was there, and I had to decipher it. Music has its own agenda, and I try to serve the music more than have it serve me. I’m a bit superstitious in that way.

Are you superstitious outside of music?



I’m not sure. I try to go with the flow of what’s happening, especially musically. [Laughs] But I have lucky dollar bills that I keep in my wallet, so I guess I am superstitious!

