Upcoming director and cinematographer, 6ix Shoota, finally gives us part 1 of his video mixtape, The 6ixtape. Entitled "Sleep Paralysis", this track dons heavy verses from 7 Serengeti frontmen, Farma Wes and Kevin Sinatra. The message within the song itself is undoubtedly a metaphor for good and evil, as indicated by the first verse from Sinatra:
Young god coastin/I'm just a young melanated boy trying to make it back to babylon before the evils turn me ghost/It's crazy how the world's after fuckery and instagram post.
He continues:
My devil in a dress, yeah she came for a season/My world parallel bitch, my angels is demons/Why? Cuz I move like Selassie/Poor righteous black man – can't blackface me…
Having listened to the rapper before, I hear this and think he's making a poignant statement about young black males at the hands of the very institutions (such as police, i.e "angels") built to protect them but instead suffer due to being undervalued in western society. However, as a non-five percenter, my interpretation could be completely wrong. It's not unlike Sinatra to have you pondering over riddles.
From a visual perspective, 6ix goes for a more allegorical approach. In the video, an old man reluctantly allows three wolves disguised as restless young men (with RVA public figure, Pizzile Max, playing the fitting role of ruthless leader) looking for a night cap into his establishment before closing up shop. He pours them each a shot of Hennessy and even makes a toast with them in the name of Knowledge and wealth right before they attempt to rob him for every dollar he has. While the old man remains calm, the wolves ransack his business and threaten his life but scramble off in fear of oncoming police with nothing to show. If you're anything like me, the twist at the end will leave you smirking.
Maybe the director developed this concept for "Sleep Paralysis" as a hyper-real and sadly ironic message about staying woke. The idea that lack of knowledge, not only of self but of the world around you, especially on a criminal level is as incapacitating as blind: patriotism, religious faith, etc. Then again, maybe I'm reaching. Regardless, it's worth giving a watch.
Connect with 6ix Shoota: Twitter | Instagram
Connect with Kevin Sinatra: Twitter | Soundcloud
Connect with Farma Wes: Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud
