If you didn’t get the chance to see Chain Music: The Movie last week then you surely missed out on a treat. Executive producer Christopher “Play” Martin and some of FAMU’s own left the diverse crowd on their feet and roaring with applause. The movie’s intense situations, outstanding role play, and thought provoking, real, ‘home grown’ hip hop music were certainly not for the weak-hearted.
This short film needs to be seen by the masses, but what is this compelling piece of work even about, you ask? Chain Music: The Movie and its main foundation is based on the Willie Lynch Letter in 1713. Lynch believed that having mental control over slaves is all that was needed to ‘govern’ an entire race. Whether we believe the letter is real or not, the warfare amongst African American people continues.
The film focuses on the psychological slavery of the African culture in relation to the music we often catch ourselves listening to everyday. The movie creates the visual that black people are still enslaved long after the chains and whips, but now, the chains are gold and the whips are the flashy cars some of us long to drive. Producer and Director Jay Sweet, and music producers Sherwood Brown, WANM 90.5’s Backpack Beatz, and Isaac Carter amongst several others worked tirelessly to create this magnificent work of art. Director Jay Sweet even let us know that he only had $1,500 to make this dream into a reality. Chain Music: The Movie left viewers wanting more and we cannot wait to see what happens next for these Rattlers!