PRESS RELEASE
By: Gailyn Rawls
December 27, 2019 10:16AM
"Way Up" Music Video was Shot in Wollongong, Australia to Honor the Aboriginal Tribes and Indigenous People Across the World.
Newark, NJ – Hip-Hop activists, President and Louis King release the visual for their anthem, “Way Up”, to honor the unification of Australian Indigenous and African-American cultures, through Hip-Hop & Activism.
President, of Newark, NJ, and Louis King, of Los Angeles, CA, are premiering the video on the 2nd day of Kwanzaa, Kujichagulia--meaning the power to define, name, create, and speak for oneself.
The two MCs are not only award-winning rappers and filmmakers, but All-American College Graduates--of Harvard and Villanova. Perhaps most importantly, these men are community organizers that mentor and represent billions of children through their social and emotional learning non-profits. The two rappers recently joined Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME), which hosted hundreds of Millennial and Gen-Z leaders from Australia, Africa, India, and the Americas, in Wollongong, Australia; for the world’s first festival of mentoring at the University of Wollongong. Never before had hundreds of black youth been flown to Australia on a chartered jet for the purposes of healing inter-generational traumas. The dance scenes reflect infectious energies colliding through Hip-Hop’s transformational and regenerative power.
President and Louis King recorded “Way Up” in celebration of music’s capacity to have a multi-generational impact. The day they wrote the record, they spoke at Animo Taylor Middle School in Watts, California, to hundreds of inner-city students on the power of education and self-determination, as well as Long Beach Comic Con, to discuss generational-wealth building. Sharing a passion for Hip-Hop to uplift the people, President invited Louis King to join MPAC’s team in support of the Australian Aboriginal Community, and to produce a video for the ages.
President adds:
“I have tremendous respect for the Aboriginal people. Though they faced a systematic genocide and whitewashing, they persisted. I was grateful to experience their love and support during our visit. I too felt their pain, and the burden of being neglected for centuries as have Blacks in America. We are alike in having centuries of institutionalized trauma--accompanying great sacrifice and resilience, engrained in our DNA. I am grateful for our American and African ancestors giving the gift of Hip-Hop to uplift, inspire, and entertain. Together, we will elevate our planet’s consciousness.”
The video opens with a tribute to the Nyoongar Nation. The quote comes from Jack Collard, an AIME Alum, and member of the United Nations Global Indigenous Youth Caucus. Collard recently traveled to New York in order to speak on Indigenous rights and reparations at the United Nations. The video also features a stirring backdrop of a rare natural infinity pool carved by the Pacific Ocean. President and Louis King symbolically portray stories being illuminated through a Pacific sunrise giving way to a stadium dance-off. As millions of faces were obscured in darkness, Hip-Hop is the outlet shedding light on marginalized people across the Earth.
Shout out to all the Aboriginal tribes and Indigenous people all across the world.
Music Video Link: