Stereophonic releasing new single, ‘Coal Dust’ 

By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV

RONCEVERTE, W.Va. – Hip hop has a storied history of speaking out against injustice. From “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy to “Brenda’s Got a Baby” by Tupac Shakur, the music genre has long-been grounded in giving voice to marginalized communities. 

So it should come as no surprise that Stereophonic, a hip hop/rock group from southern West Virginia, is bringing that storied history to Appalachia. 

Their new song, “Coal Dust,” tells the story of the Battle of Blair Mountain. 

“We wrote this song to tell a story that is often overlooked in history,” said Reece Rowan. “We wanted to highlight how important the Coal Wars were for modern-day labor laws and standards. We wanted to give West Virginia the credit that it deserves.”

Fought in Logan County in 1921, the Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest armed labor uprising in the history of the United States. Ten thousand West Virginia coal miners took on more than 3,000 law enforcement agents and private security officials hired by the coal companies. The battle only ended when President Warren Harding sent in the National Guard. 

It’s a part of state and national history that Reece, Ben, Cooper, and Jacob–Stereophonic–want to ensure young people remember. “Coal Dust” tells the story from their perspective as young West Virginians who in some ways see history repeating itself. 

We sat down with them to learn more about the song. 

REALWV: WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO RELEASE COAL DUST NOW? 

REECE ROWAN, STEREOPHONIC: For Coal Dust, we really tried to loosely tell the story of the Battle of Blair Mountain while also describing the resiliency and soul that West Virginians and Appalachians have within them. All four of us wrote the song. Reece, Ben, and Cooper wrote the lyrics, and we had Jacob help us with the instrumental. We wrote this song to tell a story that is often overlooked in history. We wanted to highlight how important the Coal Wars were for modern-day labor laws and standards. We wanted to give WV the credit that it deserves.

THERE AREN’T MANY RAP SONGS ABOUT COAL. WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE AND WHAT IS THE MESSAGE? 

We believe that the intended audience for Coal Dust is anyone who wants to learn more about West Virginia and its history of organizing against conglomerates wanting to take advantage of its people. Also, of course, anyone who wants to hear a different sound than the music they typically listen to as well.

The message is to let people know that we don’t have to sit around and let people take advantage of us. It is possible to organize and make progress on issues that are affecting us negatively, not just as West Virginians, but as humans.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE LISTENERS WILL LEARN ABOUT THE BATTLE OF BLAIR MOUNTAIN? 

We want our listeners to learn that the Battle of Blair Mountain was very important in making progress for worker’s rights. Ultimately, it paved the way for others to lead their own labor uprisings and make working safer and healthier. We want them to take away that when fighting an issue you feel strongly about, you can make progress and change happen.

ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THE SONG IS HOW IT HIGHLIGHTS THE APPALACHAIN SPIRIT. TELL US MORE…

All of us feel very strongly Appalachian and are proud of our heritage. Appalachians are historically hard workers who are consistently taken advantage of. So when we reflected and thought about how Appalachians are still being taken advantage of today, we knew we had to write a song that tried to embody the Appalachian spirit and our important history.

THE SONG TALKS ABOUT “FIGHTING THE THRONE.” ARE WE STILL DOING THAT TODAY? WE’RE STILL AN EXTRACTION ECONOMY. DOES THE BATTLE FOR DATA CENTER LAND FEEL LIKE THE BATTLE OF BLAIR MOUNTAIN BEING FOUGHT AGAIN? 

We are definitely still fighting the throne in WV today. Most of our government continues to ignore issues facing our state. The lack of clean drinking water in the coal fields is a glaring example of us still fighting the throne. Why do we have to fight tooth and nail for our people to be able to drink safe water? The battle for land over data centers is a great example of us fighting the throne as well. Companies come in and work with the government to line their pockets and make our quality of life worse, just like the coal companies. As long as our state continues to allow companies to take advantage of its people, we as West Virginians will always be fighting the throne.

YOU ALSO TALK ABOUT FIGHTING THE NARRATIVE. WHAT IS YOUR NARRATIVE ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA? 

The narrative we want to tell about West Virginians is that we are hard working people who have been taken advantage of for a long time. We are not dumb and backwards hicks; we organized the largest labor uprising the U.S. has ever seen and made a difference. When our communities need help, we don’t wait for the government; we spring into action and get them back on track. We aren’t poor, illiterate, and strung out; we are resourceful, determined, and caring.

WHERE CAN FOLKS SEE YOU LIVE THIS FALL? 

We have our album release show at The Wild Bean on November 6th.

“Coal Dust” will release on all music platforms on October 9, 2026, continuing hip-hop’s time-honored tradition of speaking out and speaking up. This time from the heart of Appalachia.