The video kicks off with Ammbush demonstrating his talents as both producer and rapper with “Speak Up,” and rolls on with REL’s “Go In,” a collaborative effort with newcomer C-Plus, shot in the rapper’s hometown of Sacramento. As “Go In” fades to a close, 6Fingers’ cartoonish yet heavy “U Funnystyle” takes over, featuring Los Angeles wordsmith Bambu. REL stepped out from behind the boards to direct this one, with a video that features a psychedelic fisheye lens to capture 6Fingers in the studio and Bam exploring the Bay. Finally, Al Jieh brings it home with “Round Me,” arguably the darkest single in the series. DaVinci’s whispery rasp plays off the haunting instrumentation, while visuals from San Francisco’s Chinatown and Financial District parallel the song’s gritty feel.
Free EP: Drums & Ammo – Vol. 1: Extra Clip
In April, West Coast production collective Drums & Ammo released a free instrumental album, Vol. 1. The album saw D&A stepping from behind the scenes, putting names and faces behind all of the production work they’ve done, a collection of tracks old and new that have earned them the ear of artists including Raphael Saadiq to Keak Da Sneak, Del The Funky Homosapien to DaVinci, Moe Green, Messy Marv, Bambu, DaVinci, and more.
And now, the foursome comprised of 6Fingers, Al Jieh, Ammbush, and REL are releasing Vol. 1: Extra Clip, their new EP and a follow-up to their recent instrumental album. While the album found the producers stepping into the foreground, this new EP places them back in a collaborative mode, working again with a variety of up-and-coming talent from around the California, and particularly Northern California, something important to the producers. “There’s a lot of talent up here in the Bay Area and throughout the NorCal area that goes overlooked,” explains Al Jieh. “With this EP, and a lot of the work we do in general, we wanted to help shine the light on some of that talent.”
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New Video: Drums & Ammo: DaVinci – Round Me [Produced by Al Jieh]
Arguably the darkest single in the series, “‘Round Me” is a dourly realistic visual. The video, directed by D&A’s REL (Ariel Nuñez), was shot partly in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. “DaVinci always talks about ‘hustling hard, like an immigrant,'” says Al Jieh. “Chinatown is all hustlers, and it’s a big part of San Francisco history. REL thought it would be fitting to also have him in front of a the US flag mural out there, because there’s no bigger hustlers than our government.” Adding to the theme, director REL also captured other iconic symbols of hustle, so he pieced in scenes of SF’s Financial District. Indeed, it was, as DaVinci’s whispery flow and the video’s shadowy slow-mo shots ultimately compliment Al Jieh’s haunted instrumental perfectly.
