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Anyone who’s spent time in the typical American high school has been exposed to bullying of one kind or another, whether it be by fellow students or even teachers; it’s a seemingly inescapable part of adolescent life. But what if the victims stood up and rejected their oppression once and for all? That’s the narrative of Dallas Rap-Metal band Phoenix Risings new music video for their second single, “If I Say No.” Framed as a comic book, the video follows the members as they encounter brutal harassment from classmates and others until they individually reach their threshold and stand up to their hateful antagonists.
“IF I SAY NO” is a song about standing for yourself when you are face to face with someone that is trying to make you feel bad for who and what you are. Everyone has experienced trying so hard to be accepted as a person, doing everything that we can to succeed, but ultimately being psychologically beat up by another person, or even ourselves when we fail! The song questions “What if I say no?” and responds “Then this all ends” as a battle cry for the listener to rise up and not take it anymore.
We are not always accepted as the person that we are but that is no reason to put up with abuse from another person. We are also going to fail in some of our pursuits of excellence, and that is also no reason to be shamed by another person. We are who we are and we should be proud of the human being that we have become. Failure is how we learn and how we grow. Most successes are from repeated attempts of trying over and over again until you succeed.
We chose a ‘Comic Book Music Video’ because we love comics and it just felt like a fun way to present the storyline. The opening scene was shot at the comic book store Kent grew up going to for years! Also, some of our fans have asked if we will be selling the ‘PHOENIX RISING’ comic book used in the video! We are happy to say that we are in the process of making this happen with the storyline of the video totally expressed in comic book form. A dream come true!!! – Phoenix Rising
Download / Stream “If I Say No”:
iTunes | Amazon | Spotify | Googleplay
Connect with Phoenix Rising:
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