Yung LA’s “Heavy is the Crown” is Movement Music Meant to Educate and Inspire those Fighting for Change
Vaun Mayes speaks at a police brutality protest. (Picture courtesy ComForce)
After almost a decade as one of Milwaukee’s go-to community activists, Vaun Mayes is still fighting for his community. The situations change at an instance. First, it’s relocating a mother and child during a domestic violence situation. Next, it’s waking up in the dead of night to help a grieving family who lost someone to gun violence.
As Founder of Community Task Force (ComForce), Mayes, along with other dedicated community members, local businesses, organizations and elected officials, worked on building a positive community-based resource hub.
Yung LA, aka Vaun Mayes, performs his title track ,“Heavy is the Crown”. (Picture by Forever Golden Photography)
His Program the Parks initiative gave Sherman Park youth opportunities outside of just sitting in the park. Mayes used de-escalating techniques and peer mediation to curb incidents that normally ended with fists, guns and Sheriff squads. From culturally appropriate entertainment and education, to hosting resource drives to alleviate the weight on struggling families’ wallets, he wanted to create a safe space for Black youth in Sherman Park.
Mayes staying ‘busy’ in 2020 was an understatement. On top of his regularly scheduled work, the COVID-19 pandemic piled on fear and uncertainty, while the George Floyd and Jacob Blake protests reignited a movement already brewing in Milwaukee.
Mayes is usually one of the first people on scene for police involved shootings. He stays with the family through the entire process. He’s at the podium speaking to the press when family members can’t. He attends police reform meetings to share their stories. It’s a full-time job with a lot of emotional labor and zero compensation.
“Heavy is the Crown” by Yung LA. (Picture courtesy ComForce)
He said that over the past nine years, the stories had almost blended together. After marching and advocating all summer for George Floyd, Jacob Blake and Joel Acevedo, it was time to share his perspective. Though he often talks to local and national media, the soundbites only go so far.
Under the artist name “Yung LA”, Mayes used spoken word, singing, rapping and battle rap as his creative outlets. After the of Summer 2020, he officially wanted to combine his creative and activism platforms.
“This project was birthed out of the last year,” Mayes said. “It was meant to come together to talk about the social justice movement and our list of demands and changes that we want to see. It touches upon who I am and how I came into activism and the some of the cases that we’ve dealt with in the past year.”
He released the melodic rap/R&B project, “Heavy is the Crown” on March 10, 2021.
Yung LA takes the stage to premiere is new project. (Picture by Forever Golden Photography)
“We called it ‘Movement Music,’” Mayes said. “We realized all across America, we don’t have music that’s framed as ‘protest’ music. So, we end up using a lot of other music that evokes a feeling or somewhat touches upon the issues that we’re out there for.”
On the trap flavored track, “Shootin’ Me Down,” Mayes shares the details surrounding the police related incidents that sparked outrage and protest around the world. He wanted to include local victims like Dontre Hamilton, Sylville Smith, Jay Anderson Jr. and Alvin Cole.
“I’ve been doing this almost nine years, and I don’t think people realize how many police shootings we’ve had in just the City of Milwaukee in that span of time—it’s an alarming number. Even with all the protests we’ve had for different people this year, I was trying to align all the names, families and cases, so people can familiarize with their stories,” he said.
The title track, “Heavy is the Crown” gave listeners a dive into what it’s really like being an activist outside of the actual work. While he has improved his community, and achieved accolades—it came with a price.
Is it legit if you don’t have a billboard in your neighborhood? (Picture courtesy ComForce)
In 2016, he was arrested on Federal charges for an alleged plot “firebombing” on the Milwaukee Police Department District 7 during the Sherman Park unrest. He was recently arrested in 2020 for “burglary,” while attempting to de-escalate a volatile situation near N. 40th St. and W. Lloyd St.
The charges were dropped for the 2020 arrest, and he has claimed his innocence in the 2016 case. He said he wanted the people to know that activism is more than just having murals and a social media following.
“We don’t do it for the recognition. We’ve paid some very heavy prices on behalf of people we don’t know. We put our lives and freedom on the line, and sometimes people don’t know how difficult that really is,” he said. “It’s frustrating that even with the murals, people don’t know who we are, and that’s alarming when you don’t know who’s out here fighting for you.”
Mayes said he has gotten good reception from the album, and was thankful to even have local DJ’s like Homer Blow put it into the radio rotation.
“This is a project to put things into perspective, case-wise, and my personal journey in totality. What better way to tell stories than through music,” said Mayes.
“Heavy is the Crown” is available in hardcopy and streaming platforms.