I met @gwatsky in first period freshman English class in high school. He was an energized, quick witted and mild-to-moderately disruptive presence in class as well as an electrifying fixture during Freestyle Fridays, where at lunchtime the entire school would crowd around the brave souls that George at the age of 14 would inevitably rap under the table. As a sophomore George invited me to see him compete in a @youthspeaks poetry slam, an event so powerful that it was my lightening rod epiphany moment of wanting to unearth and discover my own narrative and someday be brave enough to share it. As a senior, I was cast to be in the play that he wrote. I have a distinct memory of us sitting on stage at rehearsal and me wistfully telling him how I wished I had his talent and confidence to be able to write and perform my own work. “You totally can,” he replied with certainty, “there’s no reason you can’t do this too.” A few months later I performed in my first ever poetry slam, the beginning of my generative artistic journey that continues to this day. This is a long way of saying that George has always inspired me, and encouraged me, and I have always credited him for sparking my belief in myself as a poet and musician. He modeled possibility for me when I didn’t see it for myself. I have watched with awe not just his ascent as an artist but how thoughtfully he has shaped his career with his collaborators, and how important his work and words are to his deeply loyal fan base. It is thus a gratifying full circle moment to have been able to collab with him on “AWW SHiT” as a director, producer and vocalist - not only a continuation of his belief in me as an artist, but also for me to have a glimpse into the full spectrum of his craft. George is not just a recording artist and director but also an engineer, an editor and vfx specialist, a carpenter and prop stylist. He is wildly inventive, granularly meticulous, and never above any task, lift or sleepless hour to bring a vision to life. The video was a ridiculous endeavor but we fucking did it! And it’s an honor to be a part of his return. Anyway stream/watch AWW SHiT 😤 and more soon about our amazing team 🤩