Chicago wordsmith F.Stokes shares a driving sense of purpose in the new video for “Shaka Zulu,” a standout track from his recent album Fearless Beauty that was produced by Doomtree member Paper Tiger. Amid a grainy, grimy backdrop that is true to the Windy City, Stokes issues his rallying cry: “I’m fighting ’til we all free/Shaka Zulu.”

 

“Location was everything,” he muses when he looks back at the video. “This video was inspired, physically, by the landscape of my neighborhood, and how aesthetically and habitably the Southside of Chicago relates to an African jungle.” This parallel extends beyond the physical street corner, into the psyches of the young men and women seen throughout the video: “I had to show the world the faces of those babies on the Southside of Chicago. I thought some of the closeups gave a reminder to the globe that even though the cloud of violence lingers, innocent resonates through the eyes of these young soldiers.”

F.Stokes will be sharing his inspiration live this weekend when he performs at the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, alongside legendary artists like DasEFX, Redman, Pusha T, EPMD, and others.