Jalen, who raps under the name @alexandrdreamr, reached out to me last Sunday about collaborating on a photo shoot. The entire nation was in its fourth day of protesting the murder of George Floyd by Minnesota police, which was in-part the inspiration for his new song, Feel Alive. When I first listened to the song, these lines really hit me:

“I risk everything just to feel alive
We don’t go outside, that’s how n****s die”

He showed up at my studio the next day and we got to work. While he mixed ingredients to make fake blood I set up lighting to mimic police lights. After working through a range of poses we settled on this shot. What immediately struck me was the fatigue in his eyes, which sadly made complete sense. This injustice wasn’t anything new; simply par for the course in this country.

Here’s another verse that struck me:

“Feel pain for my brothers, cause those are all of my keepers
Surface is not worth it it’s been urgent to dig deeper”

As Jalen states, now more than ever we have to dig deeper. Question our realities and check our privilege. Think twice before calling the police. Believe minority voices. Be willing to admit when we’re wrong and grow rather than giving in to shame or pride.

In the original version of the song there was the following line:

“Footprints in the sand but I bring the sand to my beaches”

If you’re not familiar with the reference, Footprints in the Sand is a popular poem in the Christian community where a poet describes two sets of footprints walking side by side through life. They lament that during the most difficult period of their life there was only one set of footprints, and ask god why they were left alone. God responds that that was when they were being carried. Jalen’s statement that he’s responsible for bringing his own sand to the beach implies that the comfort of god’s “presence” would be non-existent were it not for Jalen’s efforts. Thoughts and prayers are nothing more than empty consolations. There is an expression “It’s impossible to steer a parked car, so get moving.” It’s time to stop waiting around for god or government to make the world a better place and get to work doing it ourselves.