Our roots: Unique histories that inform who we are – character-defining lineages hidden in our DNA. If they’re rotten, we bury where we came from. If solid, they’re our anchor, our stability, our support. Like Magna Carda says, “Strong roots will make your tree grow old.”
“The Root,” a single from the Austin hip-hop collective’s 2016 LP CirQlation, pivots on rapper Megz Kelli offering profound prose on family and culture with an overarching message that we all share base commonalities. Fittingly, the track’s new video digs into the complicated roots of American heritage with historical footage of war, Civil Rights, immigration, soup lines, workers building the railroads, and protests.
The clip comes visualized by Magna Carda member Derek Van Wagner, whose syrupy bass line drives the song. The former Chronicle-r, working with cinematographer/editor Matt Wink, assembled the bulk of the video using material he found digging through public domain archives. Wagner sought to reflect the struggles all cultures share.
Magna Carda, fresh off a string of shows in New York, returns to Texas to play the Sound on Sound Fest in McDade. The full live band, fronted by Kelli and Dougie Do, hits the Forest Stage at 3:30pm on Friday. Here’s “The Root:”
This article appears in Trump-kin.