Multi-platinum Grammy Award winner Everlast’s new video for “Letters Home from the Garden of Stone” is garnering critical praise from viewers worldwide. The video depicts graphic war imagery as seen first-hand from ground zero in a no-holds barred presentation that brings home the savagery of war.
The iconic rap artist has always held political beliefs, and with “Letters Home,” Everlast puts a human face on the inhuman suffering caused by the Iraqi War. The video contains disturbing images of carnage that bring home the horrors of battle and prove that war is indeed hell.
“I wanted to show the hard reality of war from those stuck in the lower rungs of it’s foodchain – the foot soldiers, the displaced and maimed civilians. The news gives us a sanitized version of what’s going on presented by generals in crisp, clean uniforms. I wanted to grab the viewer by the scruff of the neck and shove their face into the reality that has been painfully endured by thousands of soliders and civilians alike.”
Filmed in Nashville, “Letters” shows Everlast wandering through a graveyard – the garden of stone – armed with lyrics “I’m trying to do the right thing
I hope my government can say the same.” The song questions the moral aspects of the occupation from the POV of a common foot soldier who is being asked to kill in the name of his country.
“There’s a lot of well-deserved support for our troops,” says Everlast. “But once again, the picture is being sanitized and boiled down to yellow ribbons and celebrity this-and-that. But we have to start taking into account the mental and emotional strife that’s weighing down our troops, their morale and their state of mind. They’re not just fighting the good fight for the Red, White and Blue. They’re fighting a mental and moral battle every day, and as each day passes, they lose a little more faith, and a little more hope.”
Directed by Mazik, a childhood friend of Everlast and former member of Restless recording act Blood of Abraham, the video gives the viewer an ambiguous perspective. Is the POV from an American soldier? An Iraqi rebel? Or one of the tens of thousands of innocent civilians moved down in the crossfire?
The video and song are available for free download on:
http://www.martyr-inc.com/letters_master_dload/letters.html
Everlast requests that viewers make a donation to www.warchild.com . War Child International is a network of independent organizations working globally to help children affected by war.
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