In “Fruit SNX,” Marcey Yates, XOBOI, and Conny Franko tackle the issue of balancing needs versus wants. Filmed at a local grocery store Marcey Yates and Conny Franko take on the role of workers whilst XOBOI plays the typical customer trope. The look of ‘tired but still here’ washes over each of the emcees faces as they fill their daily routines. The lyrics relay a simple yet valid message of even though the grind of life is tough, continue to engage in whatever keeps one motivated.
“‘FRUIT SNX’ is bad for your health but we still eat them. In the black communities where healthy food and eating habits are not promoted, kids are fed sugar, pop and candy not getting any real substance. Often real substance and health is sacrificed because of greed and politics. The communities suffer in the end.” — Marcey Yates
Culxr House:Freedom Summer is a collaborative project showcasing a host of talent from Omaha, Nebraska, all of whom are tied to Culxr House: an innovative community hub based in the city that focuses on providing artists and creatives a safe space to grow their talent and obtain access to resources necessary to turn their art into economic opportunities.
Available digitally and via a limited edition vinyl run, 50% of the album’s profits will be shared between the artists involved, with the other 50% donated directly to the Culxr House venue that brought this project to life.
Culxr House also served as a nerve center for the protests carried out in Omaha beginning in the summer of 2020, aka, Freedom Summer. The Culxr House family helped to pull people together, inspiring the community to talk about what needed to happen in order to evoke both global and local change. The collective family that are showcased on the new album ~ and the songs they created ~ grew from both those meetings and the venue’s open mic nights. The finished album is proof of the magic that can grow from collaboration and from instigating the bonds of community when it’s most needed.
“My initial idea when Saddle Creek reached out to do the project,” says Yates, “was this seems like the opportunity I have been waiting on. Freedom Summer was inspired by the autumn of 1919, known as the “Red Summer” where white supremacist terrorism and race riots took place across the U.S. I wanted to share this experience with Artists I know personally and know their level of dedication. Omaha, Nebraska has incredible hip hop artists and always has, but I also wanted to showcase what I felt was an overlooked group of artists, including myself. As artists we have an incredible platform and reach. Using art for activism is one of the ways us as artists can express how we feel and create awareness for our people and community. Coming out of the pandemic and a very emotional year I hope this record can tell our story.”