Stefan Barone - Conference

In the wake of the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others, NYC activists organized a protest in the predominantly white, and notoriously racist south shore of Staten Island, NY. Leading up to the protest, Facebook groups and twitter rants of scared soccer moms, armed police officers, and more threatened the security of the protest, and the lives of those present. Among those in attendance included many of Staten Island’s Hip-Hop emcees, including Stefan Barone and more.

Fresh from being tear-gassed herself by the LVMPD, Fresno, CA’s Nicole Nixx delivers a forceful and unyielding trap production for Barone to recount the pride felt during the June 7th, 2020 protests, and the sentiments felt across the nation. “Conference” embodies the rage against blatant racism, ignorant and off-color remarks, and rebuttals logical fallacies of news pundits echoed by every “Karen” in a Target check-out line. Starting from the historic Conference House Park, where failed peace talks between patriots and British officers preceded the Revolutionary War, the deliberate selection of location of the Shaolin protests paralleled the current discourse between conflicting sides of America. As they marched from the ancient burial ground on Lenape land, those in attendance at the protest faced threat of death, but thankfully left breathing, and as inspiration to Stefan Barone’s official Red Planet Records debut single release.