2023 is undoubtedly going to be a breakout yr for Los Angeles-based hardcore quintet, Zulu. Past the latest resurgence of heavy underground music, Zulu is about to launch their long-awaited, debut full-length album A New Tomorrow on Mar. 3 by way of Flatspot information. Now it is solely a matter of time earlier than the band’s groove-centered powerviolence and mission to advertise inclusivity and illustration inside a traditionally white-dominated scene captivates the plenty even additional. Forward of the discharge of A New Tomorrow, Zulu have dropped two fierce singles, “Fakin’ Tha Funk (You Get Did)” and, most just lately, “The place I’m From.” The latter boasts not solely a vigorous throwback ‘90s music video — but additionally an on-screen cameo from comedic genius and resident shock artist, Eric André.
Zulu enlisted their guitarist Dez Yusuf to direct and deal with the inventive path behind the visuals. He took heavy affect from the enduring “State of affairs” music video by ‘90s hip-hop trailblazers A Tribe Known as Quest in an effort to seize the unifying bravado and magnificence that the Zulu monitor embodies. With comparable retro-inspired results, the brand new music video echoes the “State of affairs” video, because it’s largely centered round a celebration in entrance of a inexperienced display screen among the many band’s closest pals and tourmates — together with Pierce Jordan (Soul Glo) and Obioma Ugonna (Playytime), who each provide visitor vocals to the monitor. André, who’s an outspoken fan of heavy music, provides every little thing you’d anticipate from the outrageous Eric André Present comic by means of a sequence of hilarious faces, gestures, and lip-synched segments. Moreover, there are transient portraits of FEVER 333 frontman and chief-songwriter Jason Aalon Butler co-signing the band between quickly altering frames. All in all, “The place I’m From” and its accompanying music video is a celebration of the band’s roots, neighborhood and collective energy within the numbers
Learn extra: One Step Nearer’s Ryan Savitski talks shock EP ‘Songs for the Willow’ and leaving Anxious behind
We sat down with Zulu’s Anaiah Lei and Dez Yusuf to debate the inspiration and filming course of behind the music video for “The place I’m From,” its lyrical message, how Eric Andre’s cameo got here collectively, and the potential for additional collaborations with the A-list comic sooner or later.
Clearly, the music video for “The place I’m From” was influenced by the enduring “State of affairs” video from the legendary ‘90s hip-hop outfit A Tribe Known as Quest. What was it about that traditional music video that resonated with you a lot for it to be the inventive path for this visible?
Dez Yusuf: The humorous factor is that I used to be really going to make use of this idea for myself. I had already began engaged on it and was going to inexperienced display screen myself in a bunch of locations, however then it hit me like a lightning that it will make sense for [Zulu]. I at all times cherished that there are such a lot of individuals within the “State of affairs” video that don’t have anything to do with the music, however are simply repping the [music], and their motion — it felt like a standard power that I needed to point out. I used to be prepared to surrender [the concept] to the band, and it was positively a selfless factor to match what Anaih had written [with the lyrics] for the music.
Anaiah Lei: On prime of that, it was excellent timing as a result of we have been about to go on tour with the entire different bands who [are featured on the track]. There’s a lot hip-hop affect on this band as lots of people know, so I completely knew we needed to do one thing like this.
What was the power like within the room whereas filming these group pictures for the video?
Yusuf: I feel it virtually felt like nobody may grasp how superior this was going to be. I used to be simply yelling at my pals to leap round within the inexperienced room earlier than a present. I took about 50 portraits of everybody, in order that’s why you get these flashing [images]. It turned this actually enjoyable power the place it felt like a celebration. There was a ton of footage we could not even slot in with us crowd browsing and [even more] members from numerous bands.
What have been you particularly making an attempt to convey with the music’s message?
Lei: At first, I needed to write down a music about being Black in another house and never feeling like we had that likelihood to be ourselves inside that house. That is one thing that we have now gone by means of up to now — feeling like we are able to’t be who we wish to be and folks anticipating us to be one thing else. Extra so than that, I didn’t need it to only be on the adverse facet and likewise needed to specific, “Hey, this wouldn’t occur if we didn’t create jazz music and have a hand in soul music and rock ‘n’ roll.” It went from expressing that [the scene] claiming to be inclusive is simply bogus, as a result of it was by no means like that. There’s the lyric, “It’s been exclusion because the bounce,” however now we have now an opportunity with quite a lot of bands arising which are representing us. The second a part of the music talks about, no matter that stuff, the music, and the types that we have now rock. We all know precisely who we’re.
It really looks like a celebration of who you might be, which makes it all of the extra particular.
Yusuf: It’s. Individuals have it backwards: We’ve been right here, we’ve been round, we’ve added to this and have moved the needle ahead, and are persevering with to remind you to face our floor. It’s virtually a warcry to dismantle the tokenism of Black individuals in heavy music.
Whereas there are a number of notable cameos all through the video. How did Eric André get entangled?
Lei: [Eric] DM’d the band speaking about how he was a fan and needed to come back on stage, and I used to be like, “That’s superior. I might love that.” [Later on], I received a textual content for him and didn’t even understand how he received my quantity. [Laughs.] We might casually textual content about music and no matter, however then I used to be like, “We should always simply ask him to be within the video, the worst he can say is not any.” He mentioned, “After all,” so Dez and I went over to his home to movie. After we confirmed up at his home, there was loud music taking part in and I used to be like, “This could’t be his home, proper?” [Laughs.]
Yusuf: I used to be like, “This totally is his home. It makes probably the most sense on the earth.” It was like actually loud reggae music blasting. [Laughs.]
Lei: He was having a Friendsgiving occasion and we needed to discover him since there have been so many individuals. We [eventually] discovered him sitting down and we have been like, “Tell us once you wish to begin filming,” which is at all times bizarre in a state of affairs like that. [Laughs.] We discovered a quiet space on a balcony and ended up capturing all of his elements actually shortly. He danced, yelled on the digicam, and foolish issues like that — it was a very joke with quite a lot of attention-grabbing individuals on the occasion.
That’s wild. Since he talked about wanting to come back on stage with the band, do you assume this may occur sooner slightly than later?
Lei: One among as of late, I hope so. He positively needs to and informed me that he needed to only come on stage and scream into the mic. So no matter he needs to do, we’ll convey him out subsequent time we have now an LA present and he’s on the town. He’s such a beautiful particular person and can be tremendous into metallic and hardcore, which I used to be shocked to seek out out.
