Following the launch of the blistering track “MOOT” (featuring Kittie’s Morgan Lander), We Are PIGS has unleashed her latest creation—the gripping and brutally honest single “Blood Diamond,” accompanied by a visually alarming new video.
We Are PIGS is the brainchild of accomplished South African-born producer / songwriter / artist Esjay Jones who has worked behind the scenes with Krewella, Grey Daze, Billy Corgan, and Brian “Head” Welch. For “Blood Diamond,” Jones collaborated with eclectic producer and musician M.O.B. – after sending her the beat, Jones wrote and sang to it for the heart-thumping final result. Standing for Music Over Business, M.O.B. is a music collective that mixes top-tier artists like Fever 333, DJ Lethal and 311’s P-Nut, with new and upcoming talents.
The song, which Jones says ultimately both petrifies and awe-inspires her, is about the destruction waged by past trauma at the hands of family — and Jones hopes to use the song as a mechanism to reach out to others going through the same healing process and letting them know they are not alone.
She says, “‘Blood Diamond’ is a song for all those healing and evolving in their lives, as I myself am still doing. In many ways I think the track was subconsciously written by a little girl that is still yearning for acceptance and learning what love really is while overcoming trauma. The pain of dealing with a dysfunctional parental relationship has really made for great art over the years but has also led to my own struggles with eating disorders, sexuality, self-love, and anger issues, and I just want people who are going through the same to know they are not alone. ‘Blood Diamond’ is my way of burying this burden and hopefully helping others navigate these stormy waters.”
In the video, Jones wears a T-shirt from Dave Navarro and PADHiA’s art collective Duel Diagnosis, aligning with the organization’s mission to encourage people not to be shamed by struggle, but to celebrate coming out on the other side of it. Proceeds of sales from their line of prints and wearable art benefits organizations such as Safe Horizon, Musicares and Serenity Trauma Healing Center.
As Jones says of the group, “They sum it up perfectly: We all have our struggles, disorders, traumas, misadventures, flaws and defects. We are not set in concrete summarized by some shitty one-dimensional label. We are human, fallible, covered with bruises, affected… we are also healing, evolving and each uniquely beautiful.”
