Salaam Remi is a creative force who specializes in timeless sounds—but as fate would have it, the visuals in his directorial debut are extremely timely. Never one to chase trends, the producer who’s collaborated with iconic artists like Nas, Amy Winehouse, The Fugees, Spragga Benz, Miguel, and J Cole prefers to Do It For The Culture. Appropriately enough, the most recent full-length release on Remi’s own Louder Than Life imprint is entitled Do it for the Culture 2 —a collection of 25 singles that showcase the producer’s mastery of diverse musical styles ranging from Hip Hop to Jazz, and of course Dancehall. His latest collab, a lilting R&B joint called “EmOGs,” showcases the yearning vocal stylings of Maimouna Youssef aka Mumu Fresh. Recorded back in November—just as the Corona Virus was first wreaking havoc in China—the song’s original concept was the familiar dilemma of a loyal girlfriend pleading with her man to stay off the corner. “You’d rather hug the block than hug me,” Mumu sings. “This ain’t Paid in Full in the 80s / You see what that did to DC / That Ain’t work out good for them OG’s emOG’s.” Fast forward to mid-April, and the song is dropping just as America has become the epicenter of a global Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, discussions about whether to step outside have led to life and death decisions in a whole new way. Remi recognized the opportunity to share an urgent and message and decided to flip “Em OGs” to “emojis,” creating a viral video about the importance of self-quarantining. The visuals were created in one day via iPhone whilst artist, actors, and producer/director were all socially distanced in their respective bunkers. The music video has morphed into a PSA that’s been shared by celebrities including Nas, Common, and Niecy Nash with the no-nonsense hashtag #StayYoAssInSide. Spoiler alert: fans of The Wire should watch the video until the very end! Video After The Jump…