Artist: Flatbush ZOMBiES
Song: “Blacktivist”
Producer: The Architect
EP: TBA
Director: Mario Pfeifer
The Flatbush ZOMBiES are plotting their return with the announcement of an upcoming EP, set to arrive later this year. With the announcement, the New York crew have also shared a new music video for their latest track “Blacktivist,” produced by The Architect and directed by Mario Pfeifer. You can read more about the video below.
Conceived as a collaborative project, it reflects on police brutality, selective enforcement, and the right of self-defense. Scenes reminiscent of the aesthetics of conventional music videos come together with found footage, documentary shots, and 3-D animations to form a critical analysis of our times. At its core, #blacktivistasks how violence and repression are negotiated and reappraised in a supposedly post-racial society. The exhibition runs through October 25.
#blacktivist aims to take a stand on current events. The title refers to “black activist on activist,” the first verse of the song by the Flatbush ZOMBIES, which is followed by ambiguous references to everyday and consumer culture in the United States. In addition to delivering critical commentaries on the world of television, the lyrics reflect about the First and Second Amendments, which protect the right to free speech, freedom of religion, as well as the right to bear arms for self-defense. In the video, the conflict between armed self-defense and escalating gun violence are juxtaposed with the meaning of images and the power of the voice. Sequences of police violence taken by surveillance and body cameras as well as mobile devices show the escalation of the conflict. In other scenes, the Flatbush ZOMBIES perform in a 3-D animated world between digital hashtags, cinematic transitions, and chroma key landscapes, while addressing current events in world politics. The narrative culminates with the rappers being reborn as pacifist freedom fighters.
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