SECTIONS of Kingston were inundated with a tidal wave of black history consciousness recently as singer Tarrus Riley and crew blanketed various locations for the video shoot of his latest single Shaka Zulu Pickney.

Under the direction of movie director Storm Saulter, scenes were shot in areas including South Camp Road, Half-Way-Tree, the Kingston Waterfront, inside the National Gallery, and at Wickie Wackie in Bull Bay.

In a release to the media, Saulter explained the concept of the video. “To me the song basically is invoking the very powerful African ancestry that still lives on in Jamaica today. I wanted to create characters that would engage in normal city life. The song itself is very educational and I wanted the video to be visually educating. We also went very serious with the costumes that we used in the video.”

The director pointed out that when he was approached to work with Riley, he jumped at the offer. “I was excited because I have respect for Tarrus or a very long time. He’s a very serious and conscious artiste and his music is timeless,” Saulter explained.

In describing the entire experience working with Saulter, Riley stated ‘It was excellent, thumbs up! We had a whole heap of fun doing this video and I just want to give thanks to the artistes who came out to give support like Craigy T from TOK, Junior X, Konshens and Craig from Voice Mail.”

Riley says his aim is to educate people about black consciousness and to celebrate the achievements of black people globally as far as the song Shaka Zulu Pickney is concerned: “Shaka Zulu Pickney is a black people song and to celebrate our black ancestry. It’s really black consciousness that we are pushing with this song.”

TOK member Roshaun ‘Bay C’ Clarke who produced the Shaka Zulu Pickney track commented on the video shoot. “I’m feeling really good about the video, and the feedback on the track has been great. With Black History Month being celebrated in February the timing of this song is appropriate. It was amazing to work with Storm and it was just good vibes on the set,” said Clarke.

The video for Shaka Zulu Pickney will be released in February.