Hip-hop artists from the U.S., U.K., Japan and Europe have collaborated on a one-off music video to protest the continued presence of U.S. troops in Iraq. The video was released today online, with additional broadcasts planned for other cross-channel digital media platforms.
"Sorrow of the Soldier" by U.S. rapper Mark Prysler tells the story of Lucas, a working-class man who runs out of options in his own life and sees the Army as an attractive means of escape. Upon deployment he finds the reality of the Iraq war is far removed from the fantasy sold to him by the Bush administration. The video by U.K. animator James Harvey uses a blend of cutting-edge digital and traditional hand-drawn animation produced on a laptop computer to illustrate the story.
The video has been simultaneously released in several different versions, each with a separate audio track by a different global collaborator. Each remix artist was asked to choose a "flavor" to represent himself on the website. The standout "mint" version features production from Holland's DJ Donor, who has remixed artists such as Pharrell Williams, while the "cheese" flavor was remixed by Takashi Otagiri, the president of Tokyo Fun Party, a Japan-based dance music collective. More remixes are to be added to the website over the coming month from hip-hop artists from France, Germany, and both coasts of the U.S.
"With so many different artists coming together from so many different backgrounds we're able to get our message out to as many people as possible, and show the world how far-reaching and widely-held this sentiment is," says animator Harvey.
The video is available as a hi-res download from www.maudevintage.com/soldier and can also be found on YouTube.
