Mixtape maestro, remix kingpin and O.G. LargeUp contributor Deejay Theory is currently putting the finishing touches on his upcoming debut album, Everything Is Energy. Years in the making, the project heralds the launch of his label, Original Ting, and features some of the top names in Jamaican reggae and dancehall.
Fresh off the December release of “Greatness” featuring Kabaka Pyramid, he’s recruited young lions Runkus and Royal Blu for Single #2, “Charge Up.” The track, which hit DSPs last month, features the two frequent collaborators effortlessly combining their flows, Voltron style, over Theory’s hard-hitting production.
The video, Deejay Theory’s first, was shot largely at the newly-opened Freedom Skate Park in Bull Bay, Jamaica. Located just east of Kingston, Freedom is Jamaica’s first street skatepark. Its official opening last month — delayed for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic — represents one of the most exciting new developments in Jamaica post-lockdown.
Combining music and action sports in music videos is, of course, nothing new. But seeing Runkus and Royal Blu, two of Jamaica’s most promising young artists, against the backdrop of Freedom Skate Park, definitely feels like the dawn of a new era.
It’s one we’ve anticipated since at least 2009. That’s when LargeUp visited the Bull Bay area to meet up with local skate crew Nurdz Republic for one of our very first LargeUp TV webisodes. In fact, it was seeing that webisode, years later, that inspired Freedom Skate Park co- founder, William Wilson of the U.K. youth empowerment organization Flipping Youth, to first explore bringing a skatepark to Jamaica. That’s another story for another day, though…
Until then, let the “Charge Up” visuals, premiering right here, supercharge your day and carry you to Bull Bay in spirit.