CHEYENNE, Wyo. /eNewsChannels/ — NEWS: “Unda Cova,” a somewhat avant-garde, controversial and educational video released by S.L.P., LLC, provides a unique perspective about the recent and senseless killings of unarmed African Americans. Roosevelt Matthews, rapper, songwriter, video producer and retired police officer, thought Black History Month was the ideal time to release “Unda Cova.”
“My hope is to heighten public awareness surrounding these disturbing acts of needless violence taking place right under our noses,” he says. “It stuns me that we are living in the twenty-first century, yet there are factions in society that refuse to relinquish the old southern ideology. The black struggle did not start in the 50s and 60s; it started when the first African set foot on this nation’s soil.”
Directed by Matthews and Porcha McCloud, “Unda Cova” opens with a scene in a neighborhood barber shop, Classic Styles. It showcases a group of African American men sitting around discussing race and inequality. It combines historical references, staged dialogue and rap music. The end result is a message that is powerful and thought provoking.
“In past decades, unarmed African Americans have been killed unfairly by white law-enforcement officers and white American citizens, with minimum to no accountability for their actions,” Matthews says. “And, these unfair killings seem to directly correlate to the past. Simply put, there is a continuum of killings, demonizing and vilifying of African Americans since the Emancipation Proclamation.”
In Matthews’ opinion, some Americans dismissed the fact that Africans were easily disposed of because they were never immigrants in this country.
While “Unda Cova” is ultimately an entertainment video, it was also produced to educate and to make people think.
“We have to really examine where we are and where we have come from. We have to stop candy coating and evading the fact that racism is a conundrum that seriously needs to be addressed before we can continue to move forward,” Matthews says.
The complete video can be viewed here: .
About the Artist:
New Orleans born, Matthews grew up in Los Angeles where he was educated and consequently served 29 years with the Hawthorne Police Department. It was during his retirement that he started to see and become more and more disturbed by these senseless and fatal African-American shootings.
For more information, visit: http://www.streetlightsproductions.com/ .
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