Lewisham MC Novelist is tackling the current epidemic of mindless violence in new single "No Weapons". With cases of knife and gun crime once again on the rise in the UK, the communities and lives affected now lay far and wide across a nation plunging into further social and political unrest. Accompanied by a new short film, premiered at a screening in London last night, "No Weapons" was shot and produced by BLOK's Paul Casey and Richard Jobson, playing out the drama in full view of actions and their grave consequences.
In a recent interview with the blog site Shots, BLOK said: "We were all too aware that this was a subject matter close to home for Nov, who was stabbed at the age of 13. We had all seen the government campaigns about knife crime, and as good as they were, we felt that perhaps the reason they might not be as effective as they could be was to do with the way and by whom the message was being presented. Surely a young grime artist who has been directly affected by knife and gun crime throughout his life, telling his story through his own art and with a prescient visual would be a great way to get this message to the right people? And you would think that their ears would be open to his voice."
With the piece closed out by the now-iconic image of Novelist frontlining a protest (first published on Complex in 2016), it quite sadly highlights the circular trend of street violence, also exhibiting his continued insistence on lending his voice to the marginalised and unheard. Watch the short film for "No Weapons" up above.
