LayEmDown Pays Homage To The East Oakland Streets That Made Him In “This Is Me”

LayEmDown is proud to call East Oakland home. “The shit that happens out here, it be a lot going on. I love Oakland, though. This where we’re from,” he shared with me about a year ago. Today, his feelings ring truer than ever, as conveyed in his new song and video for “This Is Me,” premiering on The FADER. Surrounded by friends and dipped in candy-coated production, the Trill Youngins rapper-producer details how growing up in the hood was no joke, and that it's an undeniable part of him. The optimistic bop is a celebration of how he's come up and who he's become — all owed equally to the good and the bad of the streets that raised him.

"When I produced the beat [for this song], it instantly came to my mind to wake the streets up with this one, to give the streets what they want to hear,” LayEmDown shared of the song over email. “I immediately thought, “I got to bring my people out for this video & make it big,” so that’s what I did, ‘cause if it wasn’t for the streets putting me through what I've been through I wouldn't be where I’m at today."

Watch the video above, and keep an eye out for his upcoming album This Is me, out June 13.