Words by LargeUp Crew
Video Shot and Edited by Leo Jimenez
The idea behind our new video series High Notes is simple: Invite a few of our favorite artists into the studio with a live band, give them some of the finest high-grade, and hand them a mic.
For our first episode, we brought Sean Paul and Chi Ching Ching to Brooklyn’s SubDecibel Sound, where we gifted the dynamic dancehall duo some of New York’s finest Sour Diesel, and put them in a room with High Notes house band, DollarVan.
In the third and final segment of Episode 1, Sean and Ching illuminate the meaning behind their collaborative single “Weed Problems” — a sort of herbalist’s answer to the popular #FirstWorldProblems hashtag. On the track, which was released in 2018 through Sean Paul’s Dutty Rock Productions, Sean and Ching recount a litany of ganja-induced foibles, from burned car seats to spilled spliffs. As if on cue, Ching demonstrates a textbook #WeedProblem by grabbing for a camera lens as an ashtray.
The segment is followed by an uncut and raw clip of Sean and Ching dropping a freestyle version of “Weed Problems.”
On a more serious note, our bonus clip has Sean tackling the topic of opiates in music. Or more specifically, addressing the hypocrisy of programmers and DJs supporting music about addictive drugs like sizzurp, Xanax, molly and Percoset while censoring songs about sex — the “shit that brought us all here.”
Watch all three clips below, and catch up on Parts 1 and 2 of High Notes Episode 1 here and here.