FEATURED SOUND FILE
ANKLE BRACELET
PRELUDE³ TO THE SIGNAL
A story of boundaries, consequences, and survival. ANKLE BRACELET bears witness to Pierre Damas Bel while quietly planting the first clue that THE SIGNAL is coming.
ANKLE BRACELET is a SULAAH Sound File and Prelude³ to THE SIGNAL. Written and produced by SULAAH, the sound file was brought to life by the tragic death by suicide of Pierre Damas Bel.
As a daughter of the Haitian diaspora, born and raised in Brooklyn, I grew up seeing the ankle bracelet as just another part of life in the hood. One of the beautiful things about African American culture is our ability to transform a negative into something powerful.
While this sound file mourns Pierre Damas Bel, its larger message is one of survival: what they have placed upon you is not yours to carry. Do not take your life—because that would be them winning.
This sound file brought back memories of the moments when instinct saved me.
Instinct is understanding that the only person who can rescue you is yourself. It is also knowing that if you are still standing and still breathing, then you still have a choice.
The invocation of the sea—where enslaved people went overboard—is an act of courage. It asks the question: Would they ever have made it?
It is important to know thyself. There are always solutions and resolutions, even when they take time to reveal themselves. Your job is to keep moving forward and survive.
You all have something to say. Sometimes it is quiet; sometimes it is loud. But your life should never be sacrificed for something fleeting.
The hope behind this song is that young people—and even adults—understand that some things are beyond our control. How we navigate them will determine what we teach future generations.
ANKLE BRACELET
Prelude³ to THE SIGNAL
[Spoken Intro]
I’m a writer. When I need to be labeled, they call me a creative director. In a past life, a teacher.
This story is about the ankle bracelet.
[Verse 1]
The Black American diaspora understood: The ankle bracelet was a rite of passage. You did time. You came home. You survived.
I once heard gunshots. Instinct laid me flat against the concrete ice. I stayed down until the gunfire died.
The next day, I passed that same parked car and saw the truth: Bullets pierced the passenger side—right above where my body had been.
Instinct saved me.
[Refrain]
Pour a sip, Pierre Damas Bel. Pour a sip to Damas.
I’m not going to lie—his death gut-punched me.
[Pre-Chorus]
The wrong place at the right time? The right place at the wrong time?
One moment can move destiny forward. One moment can end a future.
[Chorus]
Ankle bracelets were a rite of passage. You did time. You came home. You survived.
But this child did no time. This child committed no crime. He did everything right.
Pour a sip to Pierre Damas Bel.
He came here to build a life. He deserved the chance to survive.
[Verse 2]
“I didn’t come here to commit a crime or hurt anyone.”
Still, they fastened a GPS monitor around his ankle and sent him into the world wearing their accusation.
His family said the students teased him. At the edge of a soccer field, the game continued without him. How could he play with their judgment strapped around his ankle?
He carried the books. He carried the shame. He carried the weight of becoming somebody—as if he wasn’t already somebody’s child.
Still—he did everything right.
[Refrain — choir enters]
Pour a sip to Pierre Damas Bel. Pour a sip to Damas.
His death gut-punched me. That child did not deserve to die.
[Bridge — choir rising]
A child going to school. A child wanting to play. A child doing everything right and still being taught that survival was something he had to earn.
I think of those enslaved who chose the sea. They were never supposed to survive. Neither were we.
But we are still here.
[Breakdown — percussion falls away]
It’s time to flip the script.
The ankle bracelet does not tell you who the criminal is. Sometimes the righteous one is the person wearing it.
But this one—this one became a noose around a child’s future.
[Final Chorus — full choir]
So pack your mental health up. Face those demons waiting in your dreams. Walk proudly. Change the narrative.
What happened to you does not get to name you. What they placed on you does not get to define you.
You are still here. You can survive.
Pour a sip to Pierre Damas Bel. Pour a sip to Damas.
Say his name. Remember his life. He did everything right.
[Outro — spoken, nearly whispered]
Pierre Damas Bel. We say your name correctly.
I wear an ankle bracelet in solidarity.
A Prelude Cubed to THE SIGNAL
ARTIST
SULAAH
COMPOSITION & LYRICS
Magala S. Bien-Aimé
Lyricist • Composer
PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING
Magala S. Bien-Aimé
Studio Producer
AI-ASSISTED AUDIO PRODUCTION
Generated with Suno
Creative Direction and Production: Magala S. Bien-Aimé
PUBLISHING
SULAAH Sound Publishing