Jun. 20—Mental health. Suicide. Domestic Violence. Sexual assault. Substance abuse. School shootings. Police brutality.
Each topic is heavy, yet that didn’t deter local hip-hop group, Da Ivy League, from shedding light on each in its 12-minute short film called “Wrldwide.”
The video was released about three weeks ago and has gained ground online, even catching the attention of producers of “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
It’s also been streamed millions of times across various platforms; its Facebook views are at 3.6 million.
“It’s getting eyes from major networks,” said Efrain Colindres, Da Ivy League’s manager. “It’s such an important message that we wanted to do it right.”
The idea for the video started as a seed planted nearly two years ago while the musicians were working. The trio includes New Mexico artists Gili Gilad, Vez and Spacboikenny. It can be viewed at fb.watch/62blvu3otw.
Colindres said most of the production took place in New Mexico and about 95% of the talent was from the state.
“There were a few locations that were shot in El Paso and in Nevada,” he said. “We wanted to keep it as local as we could. There’s so much talent here in New Mexico. It was a way for us to showcase not only the music, but the production.”
Production took place during the pandemic and the group got access to places that would have normally not been available.
“We lucked out,” Colindres said. “We were able to use the University of New Mexico as well as other locations. There was no traffic and we were a small production with very little crew. Everything seemed to work out and give us an advantage in getting our message out.”
Colindres said each artist wanted to deliver a clear message with their lyrics because the issues affect every human. The video does show imagery of a school shooting, domestic violence and drug overdose.
“One thing we wanted to be at the forefront was showing the warning signs to all of this,” he said. “Everybody is dealing with their own battle and we have to recognize that.”
Colindres and P4P Entertainment also did the post-production locally and kept as much of it in house. He said the entire project taught him patience.
“The artists had to rewrite the verses because everything seemed like a moving target,” he says. “They wanted the song and imagery to transcend a story. We all knew this was going to be something bigger than us. It’s reached more people than we imagined and it’s keeping the conversation going about mental health.”
