US Virgin Islands aims at violence through music

Stop the Bleeding Foundation in the US Virgin Islands debuted their first single, Believe, under their LIATI (Love Is All There Is) banner last Friday.

Stop the Bleeding Foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to fostering accountability in the US Virgin Islands community regarding the abhorrent mistreatment, violence, abuse and hurt of children and families through effective communication, inter-agency collaboration, and responsible action. One of the banners of the foundation is the LIATI Project which premiered its first single, Believe, on radio stations in the Virgin Islands, the Caribbean and other locations.

The single is a project done by six popular Virgin Island musicians, including Pressure Busspipe, known for his hit, Love and Affection, Verse Simmonds, Elijah Vegas, Rena Faith , Raynaldo 'TSR' Canton and Mada Nile.

In a release sent to The Gleaner, executive producer of the project, Cheryl Francis, stated, "It (Believe) is such a beautiful example of how we can work together to promote peace, and send a message of hope to our youth here and throughout the world."

Francis is wife of Virgin Islands Lt Governor Gregory R. Francis and founded Stop the Bleeding, Inc in 2007 to actively involve parents and their children in reducing violence in their communities.

According to Francis, the artistes involved gave their heartfelt time to the recording because they were either born or raised in the territory. Five of the musicians wrote and contributed their own lyrics to the project.

"It was amazing how the verses from each artiste complemented the other," she commented.

"The project's collaborators understood the work of Stop the Bleeding and what we want to tell the people of our communities. If each one stands firm and believes, we can change tomorrow for the better."

The recording of the single was done in St Croix's state-of-the-art Aqua Sounds recording studio. The song mix was then mastered by Disc Makers. All proceeds from the sale of the single will go towards the work of the Stop the Bleeding Foundation. An album is also set to be released in 2012 and will include Believe and other songs contributed by Virgin Islands musicians. The album will further add to proceeds.

Believe is being distributed by Tune Core, a leader in music and video distribution. The five-minute song can be downloaded online from iTunes, Amazon.com, Zune, I Heart Radio, Myspace music and Vervelif. A ringtone will also be available through iTunes, said Kareem Francis, coordinator of the LIATI Project.

This collaboration of musically diverse artistes is being compared to the popular 1985 hit We Are the World, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie to aid famine relief in Africa.

Distinctly Caribbean

In the release, Kareem Francis was quoted as saying, "Our product will be distinctly Caribbean but we are certain that we will have an equally successful result for this project."

Collis 'Krunkmaster DJ Slik' Mitchell, a popular Virgin Islands on-air personality, is credited with bringing the concept for a recorded musical collaboration to Francis and her son, Kareem.

"I knew that music was the driving force behind some of the greatest movements for change, so I wanted to promote this first-of-its-kind collaboration of V.I. artistes to benefit Stop the Bleeding," Mitchell said. He then brought electronic musical genius Masai Harris to the LIATI team.

"We love his work," Francis said. "Masai understands that when young people listen to music they learn more about their world. Youth often find comfort in music, and when it seems like no one else understands, the words or sounds of music seem to express it best for them. The LIATI Project will always present positive messages through music and lyrics to counteract the negative and lewd messages our children so often hear and see in today's media."