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Roach Gigz Delivers Visually and Audibly Stimulating Work In The Wake Of Murder

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9 August 2010 No Comment

Amidst the darkness and sorrow that surrounds the murder of Oscar Grant, Roach Gigz presents a profound music video that captures the air of indignation that permeates the Bay Area and cities and towns across America. The video was shot in Oakland, California on the days leading up to, and the day of the verdict. Fortified store windows, mobbed city streets, and armies of riot police are a few of the images seen through the lens of Oakland filmmaker and frequent Gigz collaborator, Aris Jerome. More than a music video, this cinematic work serves as an optic chronicle of the events that transpired in the wake of Oscar Grant’s murder. “Nothing was really enjoyable because of how serious the situation was,” explains Gigz on creating the video. “We were just trying to do it for Oscar Grant, the whole thing is dedicated to him and his memory.”

The subject matter of the song, “Pop Off” does not directly correlate to the Oscar Grant situation; however, the ominous quality of the beat coupled with the raw emotion in Gigz’ voice makes this the ultimate soundtrack for this unjust situation. “I was just out here watching and living this; ‘Pop Off’ really captured that feeling of the young people who are tired of police consistently fucking with them, abusing their power and getting away with it.”

“Pop Off” can be found on Roach’s upcoming project Roachy Balboa: Extra Rounds, a re-release of his most recent work Roachy Balboa, with five new tracks, each of which will be accompanied by a music video.

Check out Roach Gigz’ video,”Pop Off”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_A3yMfHHuE

Download Roach Gigz’, Roachy Balboa from his website: http://roachgigz.com/

The Background:

Selected as one of 106 KMEL’s Top 10 Freshman Rappers of the Bay Area, 21-year-old San Francisco native Roach Gigz has gone from virtually unknown to one of the hottest artists on the West Coast in just four years. Born and raised in the Bay Area Roach was conceived in Nicaragua during the Contra and Sandinista war. His father was a supporter of the Sandinista Liberation Front and has never lived in the United States but Roach’s mom moved to California and raised him as a single mother. Needless to say his upbringing was very complex so being a white rapper in a predominantly Black and Latin dominated business is not an issue for Roach. “I’m just being myself and I think my fans see that. It ain’t about race; it’s about the music.”

Named after a combination of the character Roach from the movie Next Friday and his high school days dancing skills, Roach Gigz first gained local fame with close friend Lil 4Tay as one half of the group Bitch I Go (B.I.G.). Now, with two successful mixtapes under his belt Roach is currently preparing his debut album, tentatively titled Therapy Sessions, which is scheduled to be released this fall. The album is shaping up to be a very personal one. Roach says the music will touch on the ups and downs of his life from the struggles he’s been through growing up in the Bay to the birth of his newborn son.

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