The Birmingham, Alabama, emcees place their faith in the bright future of the children of today and tomorrow.
Hip-Hop veterans Shaheed and DJ Supreme have proven time and time again that they are not just about making music but also about spreading positivity and uplifting their community. The duo uses their music to inspire young minds to pursue their dreams, promoting wisdom and community-based initiatives through their non-profit organization K.R.U (Knowledge, Rhythm, and Understanding). With every release, Shaheed and DJ supreme reaffirm their commitment to promoting education and using their platform and hip-hop to make a difference, one bar at a time.
Fittingly, the accompanying video for “S.T.E.M., S.T.E.A.M., and S.T.R.E.A.M” takes place at the McWane Science Center, an interactive science and learning museum in downtown Birmingham. The video shows Shaheed & DJ Supreme joined by a group of enthusiastic kids eager to learn. The kids colour pictures, learn physics by shooting hoops, learn breakdance moves, and how to understand topographic maps. Pointedly proving that hip-hop need not negatively influence children, “S.T.E.M., S.T.E.A.M., and S.T.R.E.A.M” instead emphasizes that the future will be exceedingly bright as long as we provide the right guidance to the younger generations.
Anchored by a throwback beat and a vocal flow with lyrics that preach the power of knowledge and learning, "S.T.E.M., S.T.E.A.M., and S.T.R.E.A.M." is a powerful reminder that learning can be fun. Although the kids are a little young to think of career paths, DJ Supreme and Shaheed are laying the groundwork and showing kids that science, technology, engineering, arts, and math are crucial subjects that can lead to exciting and fulfilling careers. As they say, “Let’s educate the young kings and queens, confidence with self-esteem that’s a good routine.”
"S.T.E.M., S.T.E.A.M., and S.T.R.E.A.M." is easy to listen to and that at the same time is motivational and educational in its premise. It’s a statement of belief in the younger generation but also an assertion that we have to provide the right example for our children. If you need inspiring and educational bars, tap in and stream "S.T.E.M., S.T.E.A.M., and S.T.R.E.A.M.," available now on all major streaming platforms.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, DJ Supreme and Shaheed! We absolutely loved “S.T.E.M., S.T.E.A.M., and S.T.R.E.A.M.” and the underlying premise and motivation behind it! We have to ask, what was the inspiration behind making this track?
Shaheed: The inspiration for writing the lyrics came from showing that the art of hip-hop has science, technology, engineering, and math involved in it and knowing people who have their own educational organizations, such as Southern Center for Broadening Participation in STEM, that do amazing work in our community.
DJ SUPREME: Thank you for supporting “S.T.E.M., S.T.E.A.M., and S.T.R.E.A.M.” This project was a labour of love. We’ve always been connected to our schools, but our collaboration with educational pioneer Calvin Briggs inspired the song.
So for those that don’t know, you also run a non-profit, K.R.U (Knowledge, Rhythm, and Understanding). Can you take us through the vision and goals for K.R.U?
Shaheed: K.R.U. is our educational initiative that empowers the youth by teaching them the 4 core elements of hip-hop through peace, love, having fun, and unity, and to help them express themselves in a positive manner that will assist them in their lives mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially. We have so much fun doing this program, and it’s our way of giving back to the youth in our city and community.
DJ SUPREME: Knowledge, Rhythm, and Understanding are to teach the youth the fundamentals of hip-hop culture by showing them the four main elements of hip-hop (emceeing, deejaying, break dancing, and graffiti) as well as educating them on the history of hip-hop. This has proven successful in inspiring the youth to be creative and productive citizens. K.R.U. also builds self-esteem.
What was your favourite part of bringing the music video for “S.T.E.M., S.T.E.A.M., and S.T.R.E.A.M.” to life?
Shaheed: My favourite part was watching the children in the video have so much fun at the McWane Science Center Museum in Birmingham, Alabama, where we filmed at. It was like a hip-hop field trip, and the children loved it.
DJ SUPREME: Following the lead of our video director, Richard Giles. He is a visionary and had so many great ideas for the video. We filmed the video at the McWane science center in Birmingham, Alabama, and it was a blast because, basically, it was like a field trip for the kids in the video. They had so much fun.
What would it be if you wanted listeners to take one thing away from your music?
Shaheed: Our music is truth over beats, and we try to represent our way of life, our family and the culture well every time we release something.
DJ SUPREME: We just want our listeners and supporters to know that we value their support and would not ever intentionally release offensive music filled with profanity or any sexual or drug references. We take pride in providing music that people of all ages can relate to and enjoy.
What’s next for you two? Any big goals for the rest of the year?
Shaheed and DJ Supreme: To keep doing more great work with our non-Profit K.R.U. And our new album, THE ART OF THROWING DARTS, is dropping in August 2023. It’s some of the best work we’ve ever done. We’ve got guest stars such as Akil the MC and Chali 2NA of Jurassic 5, Percee P, Slug from Atmosphere, and R&B star Raheem Devaughn.
We’re looking forward to the world finally hearing about this project.
