S. Samuel
Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA is the latest hip-hop artist to pay homage and celebrate the legacy of late global icon Nelson Mandela with his new "Gift of Hope" record.
Bobby Digital keeps Mandela’s memory alive on the new record with help from singer Will Wells.
The Wu-Tang Clan rapper and producer recruited singer Will Wells for a stirring track that asks “Will you ever realize a smile is worth a million cries a million tries?/ Will you ever realize the gift of hope could save a hurting soul?” Before becoming South Africa’s first democratically elected black president, Mandela (often known by his clan name, Madiba) had been imprisoned for 27 years for his efforts to end to his country’s apartheid. (MTV)
The Wu-Tang frontman also released a statement to accompany his tribute.
“One that depends highly on collaboration. One where the big fish success depends heavily on the little fish. One where race creed and sexuality will eventually be superseded by need and demand to get the job done on time and on budget. One where the end product will become a entity of its own, appearing to be singular and independent of the multicultural multi-ethnic bodies that created it, yet as the end title credits will show this is no ‘one man horse and pony. In this vein greater men have put down their individual strife in the interest of building the collective. Thus great men are known by the mark they left on their country masses…hard working mothers and fathers see the results when the children raise their family to higher heights.” (Statement)
During a Los Angeles concert Monday night (December 9), rap veteran Jay Z paid tribute to Mandela.
Jay Z took his Magna Carter … Holy Grail Tour to Staples Center in Los Angeles, where he dedicated his set-closing “Young Forever” to the anti-apartheid South African leader who endured a 27-year prison sentence before becoming the first democratically elected black president in his country. “We want to dedicate this song to Nelson Mandela. Great man, who spent 27 years in prison, came out to be president. All dreams are possible,” Hov told the L.A. crowd on Monday as pictures of the man they called Madiba flashed on the arena’s screens. “Let that great man stand as an example of what you can do,” he encouraged the crowd. (MTV)
West Coast rapper Game added fresh ink to his body in light of Mandela passing away a few days ago.
The Game is keeping the memory of Nelson Mandela alive. The Compton MC tatted a photo of the late South African president on his body. After a seven-hour session, he showed off the finished piece on Instagram. “The finished ‘Nelson Mandela’ lookin out of the prison bars by @NikkoHurtado done on my side. 7 hour sitting…. Few more hours to tie in the tats around it & we solid,” he said. Game praised Mandela, calling him “one of the greatest leaders of our time.” The Mandela tat is the latest in a series that includes his three kids, Trayvon Martin, and President Obama. (Rap-Up)
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Check out RZA’s “Gift of Hope:
