Via their non-profit organisation, Okay.R.U. (Data, Rhythm, and Understanding), Shaheed and DJ Supreme have reworked music right into a motion – empowering younger individuals in Birmingham, Alabama, and past. Now, with the discharge of ‘ILL Degree’, they’re extra instructional, motivational, and highly effective than ever.
Yearly Birmingham pays tribute to legendary producer, J Dilla with their “Dilla Day Bham”. This occasion noticed Shaheed and DJ Supreme strike up a friendship with Dilla’s finest good friend, and closest collaborator, Phat Kat, and the three joined forces. Though Phat Kat is from Detroit, greater than 700 miles from Birmingham, the trio recognised that the 2 cities share frequent threads of battle, resilience, and cultural depth.
With their collaboration, ‘ILL Degree’, they ship an anthem of survival and energy, that finds its roots in these locations that formed them. Phat Kat swoops in along with his bars over DJ Supreme’s hard-hitting beat, whereas Shaheed brings in his personal rhymes, commanding and stuffed with urgency and confidence. Collectively they bring about a message calling for revolution, with the road, “I’m on an unwell degree due to my talent degree…go inform the cops and Feds that I’m an actual insurgent” excellent and unforgettable.
Directed by DeSean Motley, the music video for ‘ILL Degree’ is daring in each single body, with the objectives of the artists and their mission set in opposition to a backdrop of a historical past of resilience. No location is as putting as Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham, a central staging floor for large-scale Civil Rights demonstrations within the 60s, and these artists clarify that they’re residing the longer term that their communities fought so onerous for.
A really particular clip comes proper on the finish of the video. With a single level of her finger, we see Dilla’s mom, celebrating his legacy alongside them on the tribute in Birmingham, as she indicators the significance of this collaboration and the various nice issues to come back. It honours the previous, and affirms the current, and shines a light-weight displaying the way in which ahead.
Watch the music video for ‘ILL Degree’ under, and discover out extra about Shaheed & DJ Supreme and their music on-line on Fb, Instagram, and their official web site.
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