Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Shemspeed gives you the music video teaser for DeScribe’s upcoming release, the Harmony EP.
Full of positive messages, pulsating rhythms and addictive melodies, the release includes “Modern Day Moses” featuring French MC, Shmoolik and remixes by Electro Morocco, Diwon and VIBE & LowKEY.
The Harmony EP & Full Music Video will be released March 16th 2010!
To the left you will find the video teaser, as directed by Lenny Bass (Timbaland, Jill Scott, De La Soul), followed below by an interview with the artist exploring the meaning behind the music.
Why is this single and EP called Harmony? What messages are you hoping people take from the release?
As a Hassidic Jew, living in Crown Heights, Brooklyn – a fairly rough neighborhood – I live with a silent tension, which, at times, explodes, like during the Crown Heights Riots. A lot of this tension is because of a gulf of understanding between races. It’s unhealthy; the tensions run deeper from day to day, and it’s just one example of similar situations around the US and around the world. We are all G-d’s creations, and we have an obligation to appreciate each other, and live with each other. To do that, there must be harmony: racial harmony is the first step. We can break a lot of ice by a simple acknowledgment, a simple smile as we walk by each other on the street. A simple ‘hello’ to show we aren’t so bad, that we care about each other; it makes the world of difference. And what better place to start than in my own neighborhood, Crown Heights, where the tension is so intense.
Why is Modern Day Moses a part of this release? Is this a theme release or just two unrelated songs?
Modern Day Moses is essentially the next step. For my listeners to understand my people, our suffering and what we live for, it’s a big step forward from the traditional stereotypes of the Jewish people. It’s a form of communication to help break the barriers between cultures, nations and people.
What do you hope people take from your music? Who is your target audience?
I hope people learn to appreciate and respect each other while becoming aware of the big picture – the G-dly purpose for our existence in this world. We need to create a dwelling place for G-d in this physical world through acts of goodness and kindness in absolute harmony and in a healthy balance. Therefore, my target audience is the whole, entire world, starting with the hip hop community. It’s all for the love of G-d, people and music.
How does the video express it all? Who are these people in the video? What was the idea behind it?
Harmony is not just a song and video. Harmony is the face of a new underground revolution, a movement that’s spreading fast: Revolution 1. Harmony is merely the theme song of the movement. The video is based around one of the missions of the movement, hence the genuine feeling in the video. The idea of Revolution 1 is to create love, respect, and harmony through creative art forms, from music, dancing, to painting; dispersing work strategically around New York, to begin with, and for all to see. No one in the video is a paid actor. Everyone is there for the cause and for the love of the movement. From my Hispanic brothers to my Hassidic brothers, my Jamaican brothers; it goes on. A busload of some of the most super cool Hassidic brethren drove in all the way from Wilksbury to be a part of it. We are going globally viral and there’s no stopping the love. As the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the spiritual leader of the Lubavitch movement, said, ”Love knows no boundaries” – One love!
