Nov. 11--Spike Lee has posted a link to the first single from the "Chi-Raq" soundtrack.
A sweeping ballad from Chicago native Kevon Carter, the song is titled "WGDB." The video posted by Lee on social media begins with the same heart-pounding call-to-arms that launches the film's trailer: "This is an emergency. This is an emergency."
Seated at a piano in a church, Carter references everything from the Bill Cosby scandal to the murder of 7-year-old Amari Brown, who was killed July 4 in Chicago:
"Only seven years of age when he was shot/but it wasn't by a racist nor a cop/You see it was by someone the same color as myself/we're the only race that shoots and kills themselves."
The video comes out on the same day as the funeral for 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee, who police believe "may have been targeted because of his father's reputed gang ties and a recent series of shootings between rival gangs."
(Lee also posted a separate video Tuesday called "God Bless, Tyshawn Lee" that features an irate John Cusack in "Chi-Raq," playing a character based on Father Michael Pfleger, on a loop imploring his congregation: "You can not murder our children, then go back to the crib, turn on 'SportsCenter,' eat a Whopper and fries and act like nothing ever happened.")
"But where is the compassion for those murdered in Chicago," Carter sings, "When will it end, when will it stop?"
A bio for the singer-songwriter posted on reverbnation.com quotes him as saying "I am not gonna blow anyone away with my vocal prowess, lol. So it is very important that I write songs that reach the heart of the listener."
"Chir-Raq" opens in theaters Dec. 4.
nmetz@tribpub.com
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