JACOB BANKS

Jacob Banks is a Nigerian-born English singer and songwriter from Birmingham. His music is influenced by a range of genres including soul, R&B and Hip Hop. Banks is currently signed with American label Interscope Records.

In our journey toward the perfect musical accompaniment, we were graciously offered the Jacob Bank’s song FOUND and are so thankful to Music Supervisor, Martin Mycoo who sourced it for us. It quickly became the entire score and transformed our film.

  • Now what do I do with this love I found?

    What do I put in the hole inside the ground?

    Oh, I'm falling higher

    Flying deeper

    Oh, the love I found

    What do I do with the smile trapped in my mouth?

    How do I prove there's a ghost this time around?

    It's like catching fire

    Walking on water

    Oh, the love I found

    Say the word and I'll burn it all

    Play the chord and I'll bleed some more

    We ain't getting younger

    Age's just a number Oh, oh, oh

    Maybe clouds won't break my fall

    Maybe it will be enough

    Time's getting older

    The light's getting closer Oh, oh, oh

    So what do I do with this love I saved for you?

    What do I move to the space I held for two?

    Can you taste the choir? Can you feel the whisper?

    Oh, the love I found

  • ‘…2020 has been a year of endings … I lost my grandmother and I wrote a song called ‘Found’ just after she passed.

    Over the past five years, we’ve had this relationship where she calls me every Saturday without fail and it’s weird knowing that that won’t happen again. But I still loved her and she still loved me, and that still happened.

    As soon as she hit 90, I was scared. I was grateful I had another four years with her but I had been preparing myself for the day. I just hold on to the good times – all I have are good times with her.”

    -Jacob Banks in conversation with Yasmin Cowan for Clashmusic.com

  • “The song FOUND by Jacob Banks is a powerful and emotional piece that delves into the depths of human connection and self-discovery. With hauntingly beautiful vocals and soulful lyrics, Banks takes listeners on a journey of introspection and vulnerability. This song explores themes of love, loss, and the search for personal identity.

    In “Found” Banks reflects on the complexities of relationships and the profound impact they have on our lives. The lyrics express a yearning for genuine connection and the fear of losing oneself in the process. It highlights the struggle to find a balance between vulnerability and self-preservation, as well as the importance of embracing our own identities within a partnership.”

    -Written by Joseph L. Hollen

MARY JANE HOOPER

Mary Jane Hooper is the stage name of a New Orleans-based R&B and soul singer who gained recognition in the 1960s. She is known for her powerful and soulful vocals. One of her notable songs is "I've Got What You Need," which was released in 1969.

Hooper's music has been appreciated by soul and R&B enthusiasts for its authenticity and emotional depth. While she may not be as well-known as some other artists from the era, her contributions to the soul music scene have left a lasting impact.

TIMOTHY WASHINGTON

Timothy Washington is a notable LA-based Artist living in Leimert Park. He is a contemporary of Charles White and has had several solo exhibitions over his lengthy career, including LA’s CAAN and Folk Art Musuem and NYC’s Duane Thomas Gallery and Salon 94 more recently.

His work defies boundaries and his prolificity is unmatched. We were introduced to him via our friend Steve Irwin and lucky enough to be invited for an afternoon studio visit. It was an amazing opportunity to witness such sheer creativity and imagination. After he heard about our project, he graciously offered a few of his pieces to help our film. We were thrilled.

  • Timothy Washington was born in 1946 and raised in the largely Black communities of South Los Angeles. Washington’s early childhood placed him in close proximity to the Watts Towers, which, as a child, he and his brothers would boldly climb. Washington’s investigation of the seventeen monumental, interconnected mosaic towers was at once architectural, visual, and formal and serves as a lasting and important touchstone.

  • Timothy Washington studied at the Chouinard Art Institute with Charles White, alongside fellow artist David Hammons. Washington’s work has long been associated with others in the Black Arts Movement – the aesthetic and social sibling to the Black Power Movement – as well as those catalyzed by the Watts Rebellion of 1965 including Noah Purifoy, Betye Saar, John Outterbridge and John Riddle. Many of these artists, like Washington, came to create artworks repurposing debris from burnt and destroyed buildings, recovering debris from abandoned homes and the environment at large. 

  • Washington is known for his graphic and pictorial works – which include mixed-media collages, metal etchings and drypoints, painting, and drawings on paper – as he is the volumetric sculptures; his object-based processes accrued from the material process of sculpture inform the creation of his visual works.

WRITTEN BY ILYASAH SHABAZZ|ILLUSTRATED BY AG FORD

We gave thought to what books might shape a successful path of self-determination for a young boy and started our search on our children’s bookshelves. Malcolm Little has been on regular rotation in our children’s lives from an early age with a special message that we must all strive to live to our highest potential.

Written by Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X’s daughter, this inspiring picture book gives us a unique glimpse into the childhood of her father, with a lyrical story that carries a message that resonates today.

  • “A daughter’s proud...tribute to her father and his parents."

    – Kirkus Reviews, November 2013

  • “Shabazz (Growing Up X) pays affectionate tribute to her father, Malcolm X, and his parents in this account of the activist’s childhood.... Shabazz relays...Malcolm’s resolve to succeed and remain true to his parents’ values after he loses his father “to the brute force of racism and the narrow-mindedness of the Ku Klux Klan,” and his mother is deemed “no longer fit to care for her children."

    – Publishers Weekly, October 2013

WRITTEN BY DANA SATTERWHITE

Also on regular rotation in our children’s lives is the self-published book Black Haistory Month. It is a thoughtful and inspiring collection of written beliefs focused on the development of children.

Black Haistory Month is written by author Dana Satterwhite. Dana is a Writer, Copywriter, Creative Director, Creative, and Arts/Human Rights Advocate. Dana has been instrumental in the development of this project.

  • Art often takes a backseat to other subjects and gets relegated to a trivial pursuit. I think that needs to drastically change. I would love to see art and all forms of creativity be championed and elevated, globally, to its proper status … Making kids aware of all the opportunities out there when they’re young is vital to these industries and future generations.

    -Dana Satterwhite, in conversation with Canvas Rebel

WRITTEN BY ASSATA SHAKUR

Which five books would you want your child to read before adulthood?

When presented with the question, professor, academic and sibling, Jonathon Hamilton, quickly sited this intensely personal and political autobiography that belies the fearsome image of JoAnne Chesimard long projected by the media and the state. With wit and candor, Assata Shakur recounts the experiences that led her to a life of activism and portrays what it was like for her growing up Black in America.

Her message of self-determination aligns with our film and resonates with us today. Her awareness and critique of the narrow limits of Amerika’s educational system aligns as well. Two years after her conviction, Assata Shakur escaped from prison. She was given political asylum by Cuba, where she now resides.

  • “I don’t have to live up to that Superwoman myth. I can cry and be human and lean on people who take care of me. That can be very liberating.”

    ― Assata Shakur

  • “I believe in self-defense and self-determination for Africans and other oppressed people in America.”

    -Assata Shakur

  • “Schools in Amerika are interested in brainwashing people with Amerikanism, giving them a little bit of education, and training them in skills needed to fill the positions the capitalist system requires. As long as we expect Amerika's schools to educate us, we will remain ignorant.”

    ― Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography