One Richmond musical artist wanted to practice what she preached and gave a group of young people the chance to work on her latest music video.
Local musician and actor Amanda Sum released a new song and music video titled “Hot Headed Egos” to explore the tensions of being a youth and being taken seriously.
The song, written in 2019, expressed Sum’s frustration that many young people aren’t taken seriously and are thought “to be less smart or capable” when it comes to performing a task.
“There’s a sense of insecurity when you know someone is saying ‘she’s too young to have experienced these feelings to be able to embody this certain character’ or things to do with emotional capacity,” said Sum, adding she has experienced this in theatre auditions.
“There are advantages and disadvantages in being young and unassuming, and I think the song expresses it quite well.”
Meanwhile, Sum is encouraging people in leadership roles to remember the team members they work with.
“In the art industry, the final product is important, whether it’s a show or the production of a song, but people often forget to put priority into the process rather than the project itself,” said Sum.
And there was no better way to convey her message than to showcase the all-female team that made her music happen in the video.
“I think it’s important to show everyone the work put in by the team, even though you don’t see it, because the music industry is so fast paced. Bringing onboard other young people to show what we can do just made sense.”
Sum told the Richmond News she didn’t want to be a hypocritical artist and do something that didn’t reflect her own words.
“I want to hold myself accountable to make these actions happen in my future works even though it might not necessarily be the easiest or fastest way to thrive in this unforgiving industry.”
