TAI - Shades
London based musician Tai links up with multi-disciplinary creative duo GRAY417c studios and photographer Džiuginta Mažulytè for Shades. Funds raised through purchase of the track will be donated to The Black Curriculum.
Photo: Džiuginta Mažulytè
From its inception rap music has served as a medium to provide a voice for the voiceless and disenfranchised. Its inherently political nature has allowed it to connect with people across the world in visceral ways. Its power lies in its ability to communicate grand complex narratives through powerful easily digestible sound bites. 50 years after its inception it continues to reign as one of the most effective genres at delivering messages that need to be heard by the public. For his latest release, British-Jamaican rapper Tai has teamed up with Photographer Džiuginta Mažulytė and Filmmaker Elisha Tawe to continue this legacy and shine a light on the pressing issues Black people face today in England.
Video: YouTube/GRAY 417C
The experimental rap track titled “Shades” canonises the physical and psychological racism faced by Blacks in the U.K. through the lens of a young London based British Jamaican man. It manages to successfully grapple with Tai’s own experiences in the U.K. whilst also touching on the experiences of Black people globally. Its sombre, political message beams through every bar. In one section Tai raps:
“Wish I knew the piece of earth from which my face originates.
Tryna reconstruct my roots, my family tree was wrapped in chains and torn away.
Over generations they’ve been drawing blood from out my veins.”
This yearning for the ability to reconnect with his heritage to understand his roots and delve into the acts in the past that brought us to where we are today is what sparked our desire to fundraise for The Black Curriculum UK. The Black Curriculum UK is an organisation committed to the teaching and support of Black history all year round in the UK. It aims to improve social cohesion between young people in the UK, provide an accessible curriculum on Black British history and a sense of belonging and identity for young people across the U.K.
Click the link below to purchase the track and donate to the cause:
Starring: Tai
Directed and shot by: Elisha Tawe & Džiuginta Mažulytè
Produced by: GRAY417C STUDIOS
Edited by: Elisha Tawe
Photography by: Džiuginta Mažulytè
Vocals by: Tai
Prod. by: STILLBLUE
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