Earlier this week was the one year anniversary of the 2015 Paris attacks. Many artists and media outlets reflected on the tragic incident, including Philly artist MH The Verb with “Last Dance In Paris.“ Where MH differs from many however is his acknowledgment of other tragedies that didn’t receive the same widespread coverage in the Western media.
MH recalls a 2015 email about under-reported world incidents that opened his eyes to the plight so many downtrodden citizens are facing. He asked himself why he hadn’t heard about incidents such as the Beirut terrorist attack that occurred on November 12th–a day before Paris. Over, e-mail, MH recalls thinking, “once again, I’ve been let down and distracted by our westernized media. A (news) culture, which consistently devalues the experiences of those with color and those with less.”Once he resolved that “why?” was a rhetorical question, he felt compelled to shed light on the tragedies through his art.
That creative process produced “Last Dance,” a jazzy Hip-Hop record featuring Hayley Cass and GR Stone. The track is dominated by melody, be it MH’s light pre-verse harmony or the gorgeous chorus sung by Hayley Cass. MH spits barbs at a society that seemingly deems class and privilege as factors of who deserves coverage. His sarcastic “sorry Lebanon but you’re in the wrong area,” encapsulates his message.
The song is accompanied by a fun video that splotches news footage with clips of MH under a bridge with friends. The entire song isn’t in the video, but it’s available for streaming below.
