New York, NY (Top40 Charts) An East St. Louis born-and-bred hip-hop impresario - who marched with protesters in Ferguson --has produced a YouTube music video that captures the fury, frustration and frenzy that exploded in the aftermath of Michael Brown's death. Through a dizzying montage, the video zooms in on Michael Brown's demise and on other controversial acts by law enforcement. The video also provides a historic overview of a disturbing pattern of similar atrocities.
Titled Hands Up! Don't Shoot, the video is written and produced by Kenneth "Mo Skillz" Jones.
The Broadcast Version can be found at: https://youtu.be/vRSz-xrbVkg
The extended version of the Official
Music Video can be accessed by logging on to: https://youtu.be/KNxnwIPW_T0
Because of its powerful message and images, the four-minute video is quickly becoming a rallying cry surrounding the international outrage about alleged racially-motivated violence. With tensions mounting nationwide as evidenced by a recent series of shootings in Ohio and South Carolina, the video is being hailed as A Call to Action. At the same time, it is elevating Mo Skillz' artistic stature as a skilled and sensitive chronicler of movements and messages.
While the recent horror in Ferguson is at the center of the video, Hands Up! Don't Shoot captures disturbing images from similar protests nationwide. It also pays homage to other victims including Sean Bell, Trayvon Martin, Kajieme Powell, Eric Garner, Kenneth Harding and John Crawford III.
Producer Mo Skillz' passion is authentic because these are his roots. He was born and bred in East St. Louis, Illinois a town in the vicinity of Ferguson. His family remains in the area, including a teenage daughter who attends the same school as Michael Brown. As a black man who understands the culture, and the pervasive evil inequities of the area whose boundaries include Ferguson, he observed the mayhem from his current home in Atlanta and knew he had to be there. He put all projects on hold and jetted to Ferguson. While marching in lock step with the protesters, the artist in him saw an opportunity to chronicle the passion through a music video. It is now hailed as the "Don't Shoot Official
Music Video."
In endorsing the music video, Dr.
Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., President & CEO of the
National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), stated, "We strongly support Mo Skillz' timely production of Hands Up! Don't Shoot and the national Call to Action to vote and to demand equal justice for all."
Clarifying the intent of the video, Mo Skillz declared: "While the video shows the faces of anger and frustration, I still want to promote peace. I want to use the format of the video as a call for good people to overcome evil."
For more information on how to support the Call to Action, log on to Dontshootmovement.com.
