The Queen of Dancehall Spice has released a new song featuring her teenage son Nicho.
The song expresses a mother’s protection of her son and the youth’s fear of being stopped by the police. The track is very open-minded as it deals directly with police brutality and the life of fear people must live with because of the issue.
Titled “Po Po,”‘ the song was released on Saturday, February 26, along with a music video directed by Jay Will and co-produced by Jbudd Media, owned by Spice’s significant other Justin.
The song was released as a part of Spice’s debut album 10, which hit shelves in August last year courtesy of VP Records.
2020 was a monumental year in the struggles against the privileged approach sometimes asserted by law enforcement against people of color. The death of George Floyd by ex-Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin sparked the fumes of protest and worldwide marches against police brutality.
“Po-Po” follows similar sentiments with its direct approach on the matter. The video sees Spice’s 14-year-old son Nicho parading down the streets of Atlanta before being stopped by the police. The situation was all too real for Spice, who revealed that she was forced to educate her son on best practices when dealing with police. These discussions then influenced Nicho, who wanted to do a song, and that’s how they got the idea for “Po-Po.”
Starting off the song, Spice did a short chant with her saying, “what do we want? justice” and “when do we want it? now”. The track continues with her son dropping in with the chorus by singing “Mi nuh trust e Po Po” which he repeated, later adding that “when you see the Po Po you will get a Pow Pow.”
The Dancehall queen then took over the song by spitting some very sensible lyrics, which she used to make it clear that life should not be about whether you are black or white. She further expressed her distrust of the police, saying that one has to be careful once they see the cops since they seem only to mark persons of African descent for indictment or death.
The music video was shot in Atlanta, recruiting several actors to portray the fear and concern of being stopped by police, as the creative team brought Spice and Nicho’s words to life.
Since its release, the song has received over 200,000 views on YouTube and positive feedback from fans.
One user stated, “imagine mother and son winning a Grammy. Not only that, Nicho wins his first Grammy at that age.” Another user added that “This is nice Spice. I love the fact that your son actually delivered the message well. Another hit.”
Spice is currently vying for a Grammy Award in the Best Reggae Album category. The ceremony takes place on April 3, in Las Vegas, Nevada.