OG Maco has now released his fourth project of the year, counting The Lord of Rage, which he dropped at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. In March, he released his 7FRVR EP, which included a couple of collabs with Harry Fraud, and just last month, he let loose a 12-track project: OG Maco 2. Today's release is a 5-track EP entitled Breathe 2: Episode 1 "Unite." It's likely that Breathe 2 will be a two-part release, as was the case with OG Maco 2.
Released in December 2014, Maco dropped the original Breathe EP a response to the innocent verdicts given to the officers who killed Eric Garner in New York and Mike Brown in Ferguson. Once again, Breathe 2 arrives when much of the country is enraged over unchecked police violence, as two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, were both shot and killed by white officers this past week. Maco prefaced Breathe 2 with a lengthy statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as a quote from the late Black Panther leader George Jackson: "Patience has its limits. Take it too far and it's cowardice!" Maco's full introductory message can be read below.
The fact of the matter is, all of us just want better for our people.
I am proud of ALL of us who want to take action.
This is needed.
I want us to argue, I want us to challenge each other's thoughts and opinions so that we can find the REAL answer.
Our passion, that fire that makes us challenge each other's very essence is what THEY are afraid of!
Our passion creates change.
If me being wrong helps us discover that someone else is right , then I have never been more happy to be wrong because, we ALL win!
Silence and inaction HAVE to be deemed unacceptable at this point.
I challenge all the club promoters to use your promotion engines for your community!!!
I challenge the youth to embrace this fervor as easily as we embrace negativity.
I challenge the white celebrities who openly adopt our culture and profit from our communities to stand up for them.
I challenge the violent to be peaceful and the peaceful to be violent.
I challenge us to create new approaches to old problems.
BJ the Chicago Kid guests on the opening track, "Alive" (available as a free download), which is produced by Pablo Dylan, a frequent collaborator of Maco's who happens to be Bob Dylan's grandson. Additional guest features include Dillan Grey, Aspen Martin, and Tommy Swisher, while the remainder of the production comes from Phresh Produce, Toakescheap, and Paul Laffree. Stream the "Unite" episode of Breathe 2 below, and look out for a second installment in the near future.
