When E-40 (and recently, D.R.A.M. and Lil Yachty) titled one of his tracks “Brocolli,” he was talking about weed. When Kendrick and ScHoolboy Q rapped in “Collard Greens,” they were talking about money.
These kids, though, rapped about all sorts of greens and veggies, and they meant exactly what they said. “Grow Food” is a track performed by this young MC group called the Beats and Rhymes Crew about the importance of nutrition in a society where cheap and unhealthy fast food are everywhere. “Popeyes on the corner/McDonald’s right across the street/All this talk about guns and the drugs, pretty seriousb/ut look at what they feeding ya’ll that’s what’s really killin us,” says one of the verses in the track.
And it’s not like they’re being preachy. The song BANGS. I’d play this song on loop. I’d include this on my workout remix. The people in the video are all having fun and they seem to know what they’re talking about.
On the bottom of the video one of the kids who rapped had something to say via Youtube comment:
What up…its Lu Money i am the girl on the last verse, thanks to AFC for letting me volunteer, i really can GROW FOOD. Thank yall for all the likes don’t forget to subscribe and share, this is a good song to let kids my age hear. we have to change the message of what young people are listening to and living through. Love Lu Money.
“Grow Food” is an initiative for food justice in communities in the United States, where people are struggling to look for healthy alternatives to their daily meals. Appetite For Change is a movement trying to combat this. According to their website, “Appetite For Change uses food as a tool building health, wealth, and social change in North Minneapolis. AFC is a community-led organization that strengthens families, creates economic prosperity, and encourages healthy living.”
Music is an ideal platform for the youth when done well, and “Grow Food” delivers all the lessons without being corny and lame. One of the Beats and Rhymes Crew;s previous tracks “Hot Cheetos and Takis” already caught the attention of many, and “Grow Food” is up next. The music video has been repeatedly posted on Facebook on multiple pages to more than a million hits. Maybe it is time for us in the Philippines to consider urban farming and grow our food so we can be as cool as these guys.