They may be called The Local Group but this Hip Hop duo has a big message for the entire nation in the form of their new CoupDeLa-lensed video, “U.S.” which debuted July 4th on AllHipHop as most of us enjoyed our independence libations. Written last summer, one of the most violent in recent history, “U.S.” is a jarring visual compilation of some of our nation’s finest at their absolute worst. Much of it is footage that we have seen on the news or making the rounds on social media but when edited together, it makes for an experience that will have you shaking your head in disbelief for its entire 8-minute run time. This is what the artists were feeling when they wrote and recorded the track in Summer 2015.
“Niggas kept getting popped by cops it just put me in that bag” @AyunBassa
“I just wanted to capture the essence of what Ayun was saying with the hook and then lighten it up a bit with the second verse. Usually I’m the one with the deep emotional verse so I wanted to switch it up and have a lighter, more direct approach.” @DarianSteward
The Local Group is formerly known as BLKWHL, whose 2011 project “BLK FUEGO” remains one of the most radical audio projects on the Internet. A clip from the track “BLK ETHNIC FOODS” plays during the closing credits of “U.S.”
Ayun Bassa, 25, was born in Staten Island, NY to Liberian immigrants and moved to suburban New Jersey during adolescence before settling in Los Angeles, CA as an adult. Darian Steward, also 25, was born in Cairo, IL to educators and lived in California, Mississippi and suburban New Jersey before settling in Atlanta, GA as an adult.
