Dayton hip-hop artist releases ‘Call To Action’ music video to inspire change

“I write empowering songs to help lift up my people.”

Up-and-coming Dayton hip-hop artist Eman Jones has released his newest music video “Call to Action” in an effort to inspire change.

Although the lyrics and visuals would appear to be motivated by the recent George Floyd protests, Eman wrote the song months before the protests broke out. He came up with the concept for the music video and then handed the reins over to Ohio-based videographer Lunarthought. The video was shot in May, shortly before George Floyd's death and subsequent nationwide protests.

“It just happened to come out at the same time as the protests. We added in updated police brutality videos, but that’s the only change we made,”  Eman told us. “These are ongoing issues that haven’t been dealt with.”

Credit: Toneshotit

Credit: Toneshotit

While the video shows scenes of police violence that we’ve become all too familiar with in recent weeks, the song itself is one that offers a positive message. With lyrics like “to be great you gotta be grateful” and “God is with us and with you at all times,” Eman contrasts those images with a message of hope.

“I write empowering songs to help lift up my people,” Eman explained in our interview.

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Eman started getting serious about his music career in 2016. The following year he released his first album “Ozi,” named after his son, who serves as the inspiration for most of his music.

“Our youth are so important,” Eman told us. “These struggles and injustices have been going on for generations. I have to try to make things better for him.”

Eman’s next album, entitled “Eazi 92,” will feature “Call to Action” and is set to release later this month. While the songs will explore a variety of topics, social justice will be a unifying theme.

“I’m hoping people will realize that Black and Brown people need love and respect,” he told us. “Enough is enough. We’ve been ignored and looked over. We need real change and justice.”

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