It's not just politicians and activitists speaking up, Sacramento's arts scene has also found a voice when it comes to race and equity in Sacramento.

For this month's Insight Music, Beth Ruyak spoke with Sacramento musician Christian Gates, known as The Philharmonik. He was nominated as Artist of the Year for the 2018 Sacramento Area Music Awards.

However, he joined a musicians' boycott of those awards, which are sponsored by Sacramento News and Review. The boycott grew, in part, out of SN&R’s coverage of John Tennis, one of the police officers who shot Joseph Mann in 2015. The SAMMIES event was ultimately cancelled, though awards were given out in print.

Gates spoke with Ruyak the day before he launched his new self-titled album about his desire to use his voice and musical platform for issues that really mattered to him.