Tajai, of the seminal rap group Souls of Mischief and active member of several other projects and crews including rap collective The Hieroglyphics, is no stranger to gun violence. Growing up with fellow group members in Oakland, California, one of the United States’ most notoriously dangerous cities, violent crime and urban warfare became an integral part of their developing social consciousness. In their latest video for the track “Gun Fever,” edited by group member Casual, The Hieroglyphics address America’s ongoing fetishization of violence, particularly the mainstream media’s current obsession with guns. Rife with images that juxtapose our government, elected officials and media reports against the violence perpetrated with guns at home and abroad, the video could not appear at a more relevant time in our larger cultural discourse, although that wasn’t necessarily the group’s original intention.

Indeed, social commentary has always been a critical aspect of The Hieroglyphics’ material, its members all having grown up in an era where early rap music was, as Tajai explains, “more reflective of an anti/countercultural point of view.” This is clearly evident in the “Gun Fever” video, the message of which Tajai acknowledges has become more politicized, poignant and provocative “because of the current climate of the country.” Arresting, engaging and thought-provoking subject matter continue to drive The Hieroglyphics to do what they do, and Tajai admits there’s no easy solution to this dangerous facet of our culture, “Pandora’s box is open…life is cheap now…I wish I could be a pacifist, but I’ve been raised in American society and Oakland society where violence is real.”