Free The Optimus (FTO) hit the class room and streets to teach us that the golden area of hip-hop is still alive and well. This video is packed with all things hip-hop; emceeing, DJing, breaking, and graffiti. I love finding videos/tracks where artists are trying to keep all four elements of hip-hop alive. I feel like we are losing the essence of hip-hop to the rap industry in recent years. "1234" is starring Free The Optimus (C.Shreve the Professor, Mike L!VE, and DJ Jet) along with Dylan Guye, a bunch of Cyph heads, and some amazing b-boys, was director Andrew Anderson (Double A). The video begins with FTO in higher education mode at Cypher University (The Cypher Documentary) where they fully demonstrate each element of the hip hop culture that has so thoroughly shaped their (and our) lives. They said "[our] lyrical aggression comes from witnessing 'the wackness that y’all perpetuate, that’s insidious' and our response to 'rap for dope North Carolinians' – bottom line, dispensing with sucka MCs will always be an issue, and we’ve had a knack for handling business lately." Filmed in Boone & Asheville, NC, and in Knoxville, TN, this is the follow up to the Summer Ransom series of videos that helped propel FTO to win Best Hip Hop Group at the 2015 Carolina Music Awards.

Connect with FTO
Facebook.com/FreeTheOptimus | Twitter.com/FreeTheOptimus
Twitter.com/seeshreve
Twitter.com/JetMusake
Twitter.com/LongLiveLive