FEATURE: Promise w/ The Toronto Star (Make A Change)
It’s all coming together now…Been hearing Promise‘s “Make A Change” record on G98.7 lately but didn’t know it was an official release in collaboration with the Toronto Police. Interesting (and a good look). They all came together yesterday on G to discuss the violence in the city and here’s the full report courtesy of The Star. Peep the page for an acapella from Prom too (link at the bottom):
Hip hop hope: Police (Toronto’s finest) and Promise (the hip hop artist) release song.
After the summer of gun violence came the culture of silence. Now comes the hip hop track, the latest salvo from a police service looking to inspire and connect with the city and youth it serves.
After the Danzig shootings, the Toronto Police Service teamed up with local artist Promise Shepherd to release a song called “Make a Change.” It’s the service’s first venture into the biz, with lyrics that call for ownership of the city and an end to violence. Promise wrote the lyrics and performs the song with some help from artists Kaid and Liya.
From verse one of “Make a Change”: “It’s a cold world but some hot spots in my city, I find it hard to rep a block in my city. Screwface, T dot is my city, nowadays you don’t wanna be a cop in my city, or a citizen, witnessin’, caught in the city, movies ain’t the only things getting shot in my city.”
“Music has a way to transcend; we’re hoping it will be the most successful medium we’ve used to date to reach areas and see results,” Staff Insp. Tony Riviere, of 33 Division, told a crowd gathered at G98.7 FM Sunday afternoon.
“Until we can get cooperation from residents” in priority neighbourhoods where a lot of violence occurs, Riviere said, “we can’t reach a maximum impact. If music does that, great. If not, we find other mediums.”
The song is inspired by the fallout of this summer’s violence. After the Danzig homicides, Sgt. Rod Chung, also of 33 Division, was at home watching his kids dance and started thinking about the role music plays in how his children dress and speak.
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