The American Cancer Society is benefitting from the launch of “Hot Girl Light Me Up,” an inspirational new track from hip hop artist Zizzo. Recorded and produced with an all-star cast of performers and studio pros, a portion of the proceeds raised by the song will benefit the American Cancer Society and its mission of eliminating cancer.
The core of “Hot Girl Light Me Up” is an energized, fast-flowing performance by Zizzo. A New York City-based rapper, Zizzo is a Stage IV cancer survivor, meaning she was afflicted with advanced tumors that had metastatisized throughout her body. Her story inspired the prolific mixer Christos Tsantilis (https://www.mixbystos.com/) (P. Diddy, Mary J. Blige, Mobb Deep, Mos Def, Brandy, Big Pun, Queen Latifah, Patti LaBelle, Saigon) to apply music towards making a difference in the fight against cancer, a disease that is projected to cause 600,000+ deaths in the US in 2018.
“Zizzo had a positive attitude and wanted me to produce a record for her,” Tsantilis says. “I decided that if we were going to work together on a single, that it would be great to give back to humanity by donating a portion of the proceeds to the American Cancer Society. Our goal is to raise funds to help people have a real fighting chance against cancer.”
While mortality rates from cancer have been steadily falling from their peak in 1991, Tsantilis and Zizzo had no problem locating a roster of elite performers and studio pros whose lives had been impacted in some way by the disease. Contributors to “Light Me Up” include Caron Wheeler of the GRAMMY-winning group Soul II Soul; New Zealand-based hit songwriter Andrew Mockler, who has toured live singing with Sting; GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter and Wyclef Jean collaborator Katia Cadet; producer and multi-instrumentalist David Lloyd of Beyond the Beyond, which is led by the famed Ian Lloyd of Stories and singer of the #1 hit “Brother Louie”; veteran Motown drummer Jon Ihle (Chuck Berry, The Righteous Brothers, Bo Diddley); percussionist Chris Theberge of Groove Collective; and bassist Zev Katz (James Brown, Sheryl Crow, Bruno Mars).
On the audio side, contributors include tracking engineers Christian Pinto, Giovanni Rottier, and Yonatan Elkayam, along with assistant engineers Vincent Aldorasi and Brecken. Tsantilis mixed the track, while mastering was accomplished by the award-winning (LEON ZERVOS).
The catchy lyrics, deep groove and crisp beats of “Hot Girl Light Me Up” are amplified by an eye-catching animated video (LINK TO VIDEO WHEN AVAILABLE) that will encourage social sharing. Created by Nastee of 4word Productions and Christophe Mondot of Min Multimedia, with photography and editing by Ed Marshall, the lyric video for “Hot Girl Light Me Up” plays out like a 4:25 mini-movie, following alongside a stylish cartoonified Zizzo as she rockets through space and mows down malicious aliens.
Available now on all streaming platforms including iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, and more, Tsantilis and his team know that their efforts can assist in the ongoing fight against cancer.
“‘Hot Girl Light Me Up’ is an upbeat song with a positive message,” comments Tsantilis, who lost his own father to lung cancer during the song’s production. “We hope that people will enjoy it, share it via social media and buy the single. The more people that see this video, the more we can help the American Cancer Society to do their critically important work. One day, hopefully soon, humanity will be able to overcome this terrible disease and people will never again have to lose their lives and family members to it.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROmL53F3jWU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz02o_1OYfw
http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1348779866?ls=1&app=itunes