(AllHipHop News) In the wake of the ongoing protests and national discussion ignited by the killing of Michael Brown by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson, Dizzy Wright has stepped up to present his thoughts on the subject in both a new song and a new video respectively.
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The Funk Volume emcee first tackled the Brown shooting, racism, black-on-black crime, and excessive use of police force on the cut “I Need Answers” featuring Nikkiya.
For Dizzy, his choice to open up about what he sees as racial inequality in this country was not an attempt to provide a voice for his entire diverse fan base. While he says the majority of his multiracial supporters expressed solidarity with his message, his goal was to simply provide his own unique perspective.
“What people don’t understand is that I can’t speak for everybody else. I can only speak about the Black experience,” explains Dizzy. “If I try to paint everyone’s picture that I know nothing about, then I’m not being real to myself.”
Dizzy followed up “I Need Answers” with the visuals for the titled track from his State Of Mind EP. Again the 23-year-old performer used his art to confront relevant social issues.
The Ryan Pinkall directed clip splices images from the news such as footage of a California Highway Patrol officer beating a woman, the militaristic police tactics used against Michael Brown protesters, and various people debating the political action taking place in Ferguson.
“My statement is finding peace with all the chaos in the world. I didn’t know how to make a visual out of that with it being different and people being able to relate to it,” says Dizzy about the “State Of Mind” video. “It’s mainly for people to take from it what they want to, but it’s really for me to stay humble and stay cool through all the s**t that’s going on. I’ve just been inspired by everything that’s going on in the world. We just found a way to make it all make sense.”
President Barack Obama plays a significant role in Dizzy’s video as well. At one point the 2013 XXL Freshmen Class member raps “Y’all feeding off all kind of lies/And these new slaves are mentally traumatized” as a picture of the President giving a speech appears on the screen. But Dizzy makes it clear the juxtaposition of his lyrics and Obama’s face was just meant as a slight jab to the Commander-In-Chief, nothing more.
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“It kind of happened to fall into place like that. I wouldn’t say Obama’s telling lies. If you follow politics, there’s some s**t you agree with, there’s some s**t you don’t agree with,” Dizzy clarifies. “We all take things the way we want to take them. For that, I threw a little shade out there, but nothing to the point where I don’t support Obama. I’m just throwing my little shade. It’s about feeling some type of way.”
The State Of Mind EP was just one project Dizzy released this year. He also teamed with Bishop Nehru for the 3-track BrILLiant Youth collaborative EP. After dropping 2012’s SmokeOut Conversations, Dizzy is currently putting in work for his next solo studio album with plans to release it in 2015. He also suggests he is open to partnering with Bishop for another joint effort in the future.
“I always want to double back and work with the people that I already worked with, because it’s a reason that I worked with them. I feel like me and Bishop could double back and touch the world a little better than we did the first time,” says Dizzy.
The Las Vegas native adds, “I’ve put certain music out to get a response. I usually want to know how people feel about Dizzy Wright on certain kind of songs, what really hits home for people. I’m learning the world. Just like how I learned the industry, I’ve kind of learned my fans through 2014. My sophomore album is going to be powerful.”
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Follow Dizzy Wright on Twitter @DizzyWright and Instagram @dizzyhippy.
Dizzy begins an 11-city tour with Jarren Benton today (September 2) in Salt Lake City. For more information check out the flyer below.
Watch Dizzy Wright’s “State Of Mind” video below.