It’s been a while since I’ve been able to work on the Street Art Series. This episode featuring ‘Do Something’ is the final episode in this series until we complete the album, ‘Work in Progress.’ The album is in final stages of production, so all my effort is on that right now. It’s kind of ironic that this episode is coming out in such interesting timing because the song is about making things happen regardless of your circumstances. I’m about to finally finish this album after years and years of starts and stops which is the ultimate message of this song - Do Something.
It means to turn your dreams into reality. A lot of times we get caught up in a rut. Things get in the way of us doing what we really want to do. I firmly believe that when we have internal desires and passions, these aren’t there just for us. We have these passions because it’s connected to our purpose in the universe. When you’re fulfilling your purpose, you’re impacting the lives of so many other people and truly making a positive difference in the world. If you’re trying to find your place in this life, seek out your passion. This life is so incredible but it’s extremely heartbreaking when we can’t operate in our true purpose. It stifles our own personal growth and prosperity. What’s worse? It stifles the lives and growth of others.
I’ve been experiencing so many setbacks and distractions dealing with the production of this album. I’ve been working on this album since at least 2015. Trying to get this album out has been very difficult and a painful process. It was so trying that for a long while, I was unable to do anything due to mental block. My head just wasn’t in the right space. But it’s time to push through and Do Something.
The filming for this episode took place in east Downtown Houston near Saint Arnold Brewery. There are a lot of beautiful murals in that neighborhood. As an interesting little tidbit, the Fire episode was filmed in this same neighborhood.
When we arrived on the scene, we were met by a homeless man who took it upon himself to personally guard the area and make sure no one parks there because of the construction workers. I’m not sure why he volunteered for this, but he did an amazing job at threatening us, beating up on our car, and yelling at us to ‘go park your f’ing car somewhere else’. Mind you, we hadn’t yet gotten out of the car or parked it, and our engine was still running. According to him, no one is supposed to park there even if it’s for temporary purposes while we figured out where to put the car. He threatened to call the police on us which we would have welcomed just to get him off of our backs. We hadn’t yet figured out which art scene we wanted because there are many to choose from and didn’t quite have a game plan. We eventually left the area and parked in a nearby parking lot down the block. We gathered our equipment and we were preparing to encounter our homeless friend again, but as we turned the corner he was nowhere to be found. We were there for hours filming and he was never to be seen again.
The mural is painted by Royal McGee check out her art on Instagram - RoyalShines and her website.
I love this mural because it features bright colors and the characters just pop off the wall and seem to be interacting with you. The clothing and the accessories emphasize uniqueness and individuality which is something that means a lot to me in both the message and style of my own artistry. The pineapple being front and center is also cool because it is historically seen as a symbol of hospitality. One of my tenets of being a performer is that all are welcome to enjoy and soak up the sounds, the flavors, the emotions, and get lost in the tunes to find whatever they need at that moment.
It doesn’t hurt that pineapple is a favorite fruit of mine.
I had a really tough time getting through the filming. It was really sunny and I had gotten a terrible headache. I don’t know if you can see it, but it’s all over my face in some of the still shots we took. It’s interesting that sometimes having pain whether it’s physical or emotional can translate so profoundly in photographs.
The other thing we ran into was problems with the environment. It was extremely loud. That area is under major construction and the construction workers were passing by continuously. So we had trouble with the noise and getting the sound quality acceptable. We used some industry secrets to boost the sound quality in the final film. Maybe I’ll share some of that later on.
Check out the full video below...
Here are the lyrics to the song…
Do Something by Anitra Jay
Verse 1
Did you get my letter? I wrote it the other night. In it I said.
If my dreams become reality, dismissing all theology. What’s inside my head is afraid to come to light.
I can’t wait to see the sun. Roll away the clouds of dawn. Running around the fog…
Bridge
Because they say what you feel in your heart, you should do.
If the fire keeps on burning away, make your move.
Chorus
Then you should do something. Do something tonight.
If you can feel it in your heart and dream it in your dreams. Get up off your feet and do a little dance.
Do something. Do something tonight.
Verse 2
So many words to say. So many things that make all things complicated a million times a day.
It’s why I want to write this letter, get all my thoughts out on paper and send it out to you.
P.S. This will be the last episode of the Street Art Series for a while until after the album, ‘Work in Progress’ is completed. I’m making that a priority and I can only do one thing at a time!
