Audio Gumbo

Images of Black single mothers and daddyless Black children are constantly saturating our media outlets.  We’ve heard the narrative for so long that we begin to perpetuate this thought and go along with the misrepresentation.  Hip hop is very much a deep thread in the Black community, woven in many facets of our daily lives.  As a male-dominated industry, we rarely hear the stories of these men being fathers, along with rappers, producers and students of the hip hop game.  Will Feagins Jr. means to steer the conversation and the narrative to a topic that is seldom discussed in a mainstream platform.  Divided Time highlights the fatherhoods of independent artists Abyss, Arablak, Damaja D, Ekundayo, Jawz of Life, mikeflo, Snub Zero, Stanza, and Supastition.  The men discuss their relationships with their children, the hard choices they’ve made balancing their music dreams and building their families, the examples of fatherhood they witnessed growing up, and what hip hop means to them as parents.

I went to one of the screenings for the documentary at the Plaza Theatre and the energy was unmatched.  Stars of the film came out with their children and their families.  It was a touching scene to watch the faces of some of the kids as their father’s story unfolded on the big screen.  Stanza’s young sons were sitting directly in front of me and every time they saw their dad on the screen, they’d jump up and exclaim, “Hey, Daddy!” One scene featured Stanza rhyming during A3C.  The whole theater was nodding its head and when the hook came in, Stanza’s boys took over, right there in their seats.  That moment was a great example of one of the messages in the film: crafting music while being truly cognizant of your intent and purpose.  As fathers and musicians, many of the men reflected on how having children shaped the direction of their lyrics, making them even more aware of the messages they are transmitting to not only the masses, but to their seeds.

 Peep the trailer below and show your support by sharing this vision on your social media using the hashtag, #DividedTime. 

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