Drawing us in with a cinematic synthscape with orchestral adjacency, astral tones and brooding bass inflections, HZPROD opens Dreamer with dimensionality, intricacy and drama. The opus expands with a captivating flow from Marco Vernice with the words, “Hello world, I’m here to report all the way from Africa, two-thousand people killed in Sudan, it’s a massacre, how many people gotta die, if I rap about this, they gonna try to get me crucified…”

We immediately connect with the intentional depth of the track, released poignantly under the full moon. There is no doubt that New York based HZPROD and his collaborators are using their artistry as activism, shining a light on Sudan, Gaza, blood diamonds, equality and the idea of dreaming of a better future. The message feels extremely important and zeitgeist.

In the second half of the track, Siggas steps in with a deeply introspective and unfiltered perspective. His prose touches on colonial legacies, economic exploitation, identity struggles, and social injustice. His verse really unpacks darker issues, including labour inequality, incarceration, human trafficking, and the complexities of cultural self-perception.

We learn that independent producer HZPROD leads the creative direction for War Torn Project. This is a cinematic and socially conscious music series that fuses hip-hop with humanitarian storytelling. HZPROD uses this project as a platform to raise awareness around global crises whilst promoting themes of resilience, unity and hope.

Each release is designed to build on an overarching narrative that moves from conflict and hardship towards reflection and optimism. Dreamer follows the release of HZPROD‘s debut single, War Within.

There is no doubt that Dreamers would fit perfectly as the soundtrack for a film like Blood Diamond, Beasts of No Nation, or Hotel Rwanda. Fans of artists like Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, and Dave would absolutely be able to connect with what HZPROD is creating.

Needless to say, we are in awe, and have added Dreamer to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS and TRIPPY playlists, whilst we continue to stream War Within, reflect on what HZPROD is sharing, and anticipate future releases.

The post New York’s HZPROD shares art as activism with powerful and intentionally zeitgeist sophomore single, Dreamer appeared first on KIMU.