No Shade
in partnership with Classic Music Co. & Defected Records
2018-2022
with Samuel Obey, Nelson Bandela Nance, Whitney McGuire, Naima Ramos-Chapman, Guarionex Rodriguex, Jr., Aaron Amado, Des Money, Reese Bland, Blake Murphy & Jahmel Reynolds
Roles
Creative Direction
Art Direction
OBJECTIVES
Diasporic dance music, rooted in deep-house arrangements, soulful progressions and vocally inspired by the intersection of Mike Dunn, Moodymann, Mos Def & Gil Scott Heron.
A tribute to early Chicago House Music and the golden era of underground parties and music in New York.
An opportunity to leverage house music’s international appeal — its four on the floor rhythms, choice breaks and repetition — to propel thoughtful lyrics and visual narratives; sans hype.
THE CONCEPT
Sunflowers can grow to over 6 feet tall in an attempt to reach the sun’s warmth, regardless of setting or surrounding. In that they are much like us; chasing the light in people, making light of treachery or craving warmth in a cold world.
Recorded in Brooklyn’s Bedford Stuyvesant, a neighbourhood bearing the scars of over-policing and encroaching gentrification, the vibrancy of the community and its unyielding history of creative expression shines through on the album’s entirety.
THE CREATIVE
THE VIDEOS
