Haviah Mighty has shared a video for “Protest.” The clip was directed by Kit Weyman & Chrris Lowe, and produced by Director X-led production company, Fela (who have created videos for Drake, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Rosalia, Jay Z and more). “Protest,” is off Haviah Mighty’s Mixtape Stock Exchange

Produced by Young Dreadz, the single, Protest, is a visceral recall of the feelings of guilt and stress that many marginalized individuals carry with them daily due to centuries of suffering, heaviness, pain and bloodshed at the hands of law enforcement. The production blends slow, sad, ethereal piano chords with aggressive 808s and a drill-infused percussive groove, following a pace that rises like a heartbeat with tension.

“This song is my protest – a reminder that regardless of all the conversations, the chatter, the media, the justices and injustices – this feeling and fear we walk with, is as present as ever. After all these years, encountering the police as a marginalized person still triggers pure fear,” Haviah says. “These feelings within the production – the intensity and depth of the chords, the stress and tension of the pacing – it all mirrors the feelings of paranoia, fear, control, and our innate will to survive when encountering law enforcement. Having UK-based artist, Yizzy, bless this record brings it full circle. From a light skin male’s perspective from somewhere else on the globe, our experiences still mirror one another, a further testament to the eerie similarities of trauma among Black folks.”

Haviah’s Stock Exchange mixtape, featuring collaborations with US artists Jalen Santoy (Way Too Fast) and Old Man Saxon (Antisocial) to Toronto artist TOBi (Good On My Own Tonight), Grandtheft, and more to be announced, will be out this fall. The title refers to a reckoning Haviah had internally over the last year, connecting with how artists are forced to validate their value based on random data (followers, subscribers) and losing a part of the authentic human-to-human universal experience of art.

She adds, “These statistics that we use to compare ourselves to others and to define our successes, have become proof of our worth. It’s all perception. These ideas around perceived value got me thinking about the Stock Exchange. Seeing parallels between the way it flows – the constant rising and falling – all dictated by the general public’s perception of an entity’s value, and ultimately how that influences the moves that we make as individuals.”

Much like Protest and her previous video for Obeah, the project’s focus will be brought to life through intentionally-produced videos, alongside artwork and visualizers by BlackPowerBarbie, connecting themes both personal and universal. In addition, Haviah’s 2020 visual for Thirteen, is now shortlisted for a 2021 Prism Prize. Voting is open until June 23.