Artists strive for success, but sometimes success can obscure the heart of their artistry. Sinéad O’Connor became a critical and commercial sensation with her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, and her cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.” It’s a beautiful song, and a perfect performance, but it’s not, for me, the best cut on that album. My favorite song on the record is the searingly political “Black Boys on Mopeds,” written in response to the death of Colin Roach in 1983.

Roach, a 21-year-old Black man living in Hackney, London, was riding his scooter when he was stopped by the police, who determined the vehicle was stolen. Under questionable circumstances, Roach ended up dead of a gunshot wound sustained at the police station. Despite investigations and inquests, his death was ruled a suicide. Many, including O’Connor, never bought this story. She dedicated the album to his parents.