The
Battiest Brothers Debut “The Storm” Music Video, a Tribute to the Seminole
Tribe of Florida, and Celebrate Launch of Unconquered Media on September 17 at Paradise Live Theater at the
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Twilight Wolf Pack Actors Chaske Spencer and Kiowa Gordon Plus
Genevieve, Randy, Jaffar and Jermajesty Jackson to Walk the Red Carpet at 9 p.m.
as Part of Festivities
Hollywood,
Fla. –
Spencer and Zachary “Doc” Battiest will host a celebrity watch party on
Saturday, Sept. 17 at Paradise Live theater at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel
& Casino in celebration of the debut of “The Storm” music video. The
production is an elaborate visual accompaniment to the Battiest’s first single
of the same name written as a tribute to the Seminole Tribe. The song is
currently available on iTunes and Amazon.com. The party will also serve to
launch Unconquered Media, a Hollywood, Florida-based company owned by Spencer and
Zach 'DOC' Battiest.
A variety of celebrities including the Twilight film series’ “Wolf Pack” actors
Chaske Spencer and Kiowa Gordon plus Genevieve, Randy, Jaffar and Jermajesty
Jackson (niece and nephews of Michael Jackson) will walk the red carpet at 9
p.m. and attend the party immediately following.
“Our Tribe's young men, the Battiest brothers, show what hard work and dedication can achieve,” said James E. Billie, chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. “I'm happy that the Seminole Tribe along with Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino believe in the future of our young tribal men. We are excited to welcome our friends from all around the world to join in the celebration of the launch of Unconquered Media and the release of 'The Storm' music video.”
Though relayed from the point-of-view of a modern day Seminole, the video respectfully pays tribute to the leaders of the past. The music video’s opening shots portray the Battiest brothers pulling up in a Bentley and later cut to emotional images of the duo performing their heartfelt lyrics in a re‐creation of a traditional tribal campsite on the Big Cypress Seminole reservation. Captivating and mesmerizing black and white still and moving images of prominent historical tribal members and their families are featured throughout the production.
One scene even captures the artists in a true natural rainstorm that is described by the brothers as “a shower of blessings from mother earth in the heart of The Everglades swamp.”
The original stirring song featuring the rhythmic rap of Zachary “Doc” Battiest blended with the soulful blues melodies of his brother, Spencer, was self-written and produced in their studio during a night-long session. The song’s lyrics capture the Tribe’s emotional history with its trials and tribulations describing fights with encroaching armies to mothers filling the mouths of crying babies with mud to protect tribal campsites from marauding soldiers to Osceola’s dramatic declaration of non-surrender. Key lines refute the clichéd current public caricature of the Seminoles and assert power and unity.
“….Before the Rez before the rock before we had our money, We once was warriors fam keepers of the land, No weapon formed against us could ever withstand, They thought they had our number when they tried to wipe us out… and …Since they couldn't take us ‘way now here we stay, Standing strong with our heads up the Seminole way, Tradition flows like the blood in our veins, we'll never forget from where we came, Unconquered even today…”
“The stereotypes deserve response,” said Doc Battiest. “We are musicians, but we are also storytellers, Seminoles. We owe much to our ancestors. We owe much to our children.”
Spencer Battiest began performing with his brother, parents and grandparents in a touring gospel show when he was six years old. He graduated to the world stage with the John Robert Powers Talent Agency and was awarded “The Best Teen Male Artist” at the International Presentation of Performers (IPOP). He has since opened for such performers as Bruce Springsteen, Sting, The Police and other internationally acclaimed acts at Hard Rock Calling live concerts in London’s Hyde Park.
Doc, who took a hiatus in his teens from performing to concentrate on sports and lead a more “normal” life, returned to music with a vengeance at 16. Since then, he has been writing music, dancing, rapping, and attending to his first love, drumming and percussion.
“The most memorable music is music with a purpose,” said 20-year-old Spencer, a veteran gospel/ R&B performer with a performance resume that dates from pre-school. “We’ve listened to the stories and songs of our Tribe since we were four or five years old. Our music and this video pays reverence to the unconquered spirit they represent and we wanted to pass these cultural treasures along. We owe a debt of love to many.”
He added that the duo does not define its music as “Indian music.” “We each have different influences and inspirations,” he explained. “But this project was a labor of love and reflects an important part of both of us.”
