“Nowhere to call home, cause it’s burnt to the ground." This is how being an immigrant feels like these days, but this needs to change. We are more exposed than ever to different accents, people, and cultures. But when we hear an accent, this doesn’t have to bring up prejudices and stereotypes, instead, it should awaken a celebration of another group of people who can only widen our worlds. One inspiringly diverse group, between Romanian-American artist Drei Ros, African American artist RobYoung and Dominican artist Sharlene, have wanted to change the current response to an accent and immigrants by teaming up to create the “Excuse My Accent” Movement. This movement is about bringing people together to make a change for the better. They are using the platform for sharing cultural stories of inclusivity and showing their pride over their backgrounds by realizing that all people are in this together. The "Excuse My Accent" song is produced by The Donuts and MP808 (808 Mafia) with creative assistance by Grammy-nominated songwriter Kief Brown. It became an anthem for all the immigrants and minorities with its music video and delivers a message of truth, struggle, and hope. We talked with Drei Ros and RobYoung about the story behind Excuse My Accent, their experiences, and migration issues. Please read our exclusive interview below to learn more about celebrating our uniqueness and how to support the movement.

Where are you based?
DREI ROS: LA.

ROBYOUNG: I was born in Tacoma, Washington, and found my way traveling to Portland and the Bay Area, then landing in LA currently. So, I like to say the West Coast.

How did you get interested in music?
DREI ROS: I grew up around music and I started writing songs at an early age.

ROBYOUNG: I started writing poetry at a very young age watching my father who is a poet and motivational speaker. That quickly developed into music at around the age of 12 or 13.

What inspired you two to team up?
DREI ROS: We’ve been friends for more than 10 years and we’ve been doing music together since 2010.

ROBYOUNG: Drei and I found ourselves pulling together over the shared love of hip hop. We had a mutual friend who introduced us and it very quickly landed us in the studio. It was natural and we quickly began writing and recording. I believe our unique background blended and we were able to balance each other out creatively.

Jejune loves your new song “Excuse My Accent”! Both the song and music video are very powerful. What is the story behind your single? What inspired you to write it?
DREI ROS: In the early stages of my career, I was always criticized for my accent in my music. While I was having a conversation with Rob, he suggested that I should do a song titled “Excuse My Accent” which started the whole concept. Later on, it became bigger than a song about my accent, it became an anthem for all the immigrants and minorities that live both in the United States and around the globe.

ROBYOUNG: It started with a conversation actually. Drei Ros was telling me how he has trouble with his accent, being an immigrant from Romania and a hip hop artist. I told him to write a song about it, use that as your fuel because that uniqueness is where the best creativity stems from. We quickly realized how big the concept was. What an accent denotes in itself and how many people could relate to that struggle on a grand scale.

Can you tell us a little bit about the significance of the young girl in red in the music video? Do you want people to put themselves in the shoes of a child like this?
DREI ROS: The girl in the red dress represents the youth, the next generation. She represents the children that are witnessing the crazy world we live in and also the hope that the future will be better.

ROBYOUNG: It is a nod to the girl in the little red dress from Schindler's List. Those who have seen the movie about the Holocaust understand why it is so impactful. In the movie, you see the little girl in her innocence surrounded by the chaos. It was a very purposeful moment the director Richard Stan made sure was there. He wanted to show the gravity of the conversation the music video is laying out. The goal is to have people follow this child and realize that at the end of the day our children will be affected by the decisions we are making. The questions are: ‘What foundation are we laying out? How are we leading in today’s world?’ We all know that every child comes out as a blank slate, ready to be molded. It is no secret that hatred and division is a learned behavior. In the video you see her walking around in bewilderment trying to grapple with the disdain she is witnessing. Truth be told, although this is a creative visual, it is a sad reality.

Your song “Excuse My Accent” is just the beginning of your movement. Can you tell us a little bit about the “Excuse My Accent” Movement?
DREI ROS: “Excuse My Accent” the movement is about the people. It’s about bringing people together to make a change for the better.

ROBYOUNG: “Excuse My Accent” is a very basic concept. We are all human beings. We all are a sum of our culture, traditions, history, and experience. We want people to lean on that reality and understand that celebrating our uniqueness doesn’t impose on anyone else's celebration. If allowed, we have a lot to learn from each other. It is a state of mind.

It can be summed up best by a quote from Martin Luther King: “We must all learn to live together as brothers or we will all perish together as fools. We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”
This is an international conversation. In the song, I say "don't get patriotic," meaning patriotism should never come before humanism. We want people to take ownership and pride over their backgrounds by realizing that we are in this together.

Why was it important that you speak up about the issues of immigrants? Can you talk about the troubling occurrences that drove you to make this song and movement?
DREI ROS: It’s important to give a voice to the voiceless and that’s what we wanted to do with “Excuse My Accent”. We want to become a hub where we will present the stories of immigrants and minorities and also bring people together and help each other make the world a better place.

ROBYOUNG: Well look, I could say what drove us is that families are separated in detention centers without access to proper food or cleaning products. We could say the fact that kids are going missing from detention centers, or even that America is deporting its own veterans who have fought to protect the idea of freedom. We could talk about police brutality, the recent killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. The list of American inequity and injustice that could be an inspiration can go on.

Interestingly enough the song and music video was finished well before George Floyd’s death and the protests started in early 2020 in what is now being called the greatest social revolution of modern time. That alone shows the relevance and potency of the song and how much of a historical problem we have had with injustice, racism, and division. The sad part is if we don’t pivot, this video will still be relevant in the upcoming decades. I hope we can look back and say that isn’t true.

Can you please tell us about your experience as an immigrant? Do you receive discrimination because of your accent? What is your first reaction usually?
DREI ROS: My experience as an immigrant had its ups and downs. It was hard at first to learn the language and to make friends, but I’m happy now that I live here and that I have enormous opportunities to live a better life and also make a change for the other immigrants and minorities.

ROBYOUNG: I do not necessarily face discrimination because of my accent. Other than every now and then, I am told I speak too proper for being Black …whatever that means. I am from the Northwest, that is just our get down. That’s our accent I guess you can say. Someone said I would make a good newscaster. Insert eye roll.

As far as my personal history with immigration, being African American, my history comes from forced migration. Obviously, I don’t have to detail the long-standing fight my people have had to face. The experience of being a Black male in America is that of having to understand that discrimination in a large variety comes with the territory. I try to face discrimination from a place of hope. If I allowed myself to get angry… the truth is I would be angry all the time. Every. Single. Day. No one wants to live that way.

In the song, you want to encourage people to accept other cultures. How do we make this possible in our daily life? How would you like to see America do a better job with this?
DREI ROS: I feel that if we are able to stop judging people and to try to accept people for who they are, we have a better chance as a nation to succeed and to make the future better for the next generation.

ROBYOUNG: I believe we need to look at our differences through a new lens. Curiosity would go a long way. It’s a mentality we need to adopt. When I meet someone who is from a totally different background I become like a little kid, asking questions and seeking to understand that person at their core. I know there are lessons in their experiences and there is wisdom in those differences I don't understand.

As Americans, we are the land of immigrants. Our differences are what make up the whole. We are all in this together. We should carry this with pride and hold a shared responsibility to uplift each other so we can make strides. Isn’t that the point of America? Isn’t it as American as apple pie to fight for those who are less fortunate? Historically, we have gone to other countries imposing our ideal of freedom and democracy. From what I know that has always been our motto: “Liberty and justice for all.” I think it’s time we start to embody that.

You want to highlight different kinds of discriminations against people of all gender and race. How do you think making inclusive music videos change the attitude of society?
DREI ROS: I hope the music video inspires people and brings people together. We are just being artists and we are using our creativity with good intentions to inspire the audience to become more emphatic towards one another.

ROBYOUNG: As artists, we have a unique opportunity. We create expression and a lot of times it comes from the temperament of society. Creating art that reflects what is happening around us has the power to invoke emotion. Hopefully, ours evoked sympathy or empathy. I believe these pieces of work can make people pause for a second. If we can just plant a seed of unity in someone’s mind we have done our job. Even if it's unknowing that it came from us, that seed can grow. Change society one mind at a time. No pressure.

What do you think about the artist's role in fighting for human rights? Do you think is it their duty?
DREI ROS: I think artists have a very powerful voice and that voice should be used wisely.

ROBYOUNG: I wouldn’t say it is an artist's duty. To each their own. Yet, I would say since we have a platform why not use it to steer the conversation towards inclusivity or even just positivity for that matter. Right now as influencers and people with an intercom I do think it's important we understand the weight of our words.

My lineage is filled with people who put forth maximum effort to create my opportunity, even to have this interview now. My platform stands on the backs of Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Public Enemy, even John Lennon's “Imagine”, and what have you. I don’t take that for granted. Personally, I will be damned if I don’t use my voice to do the same for someone else.

You are using your “Excuse My Accent” platform to share cultural stories of inclusivity, spotlight incredible individuals from diverse backgrounds, and feature organizations that support multicultural communities. Why is this important to you? Do you have a favorite story or person?
DREI ROS: It’s very important for me to bring people together. Most of the time different people have similar stories and by presenting these stories people will realize more and more that we are all the same no matter where we are from and what language we speak.

ROBYOUNG: Inclusivity and equality is everything. Not only are we highlighting diversity, but our journey has also been made from it. At “Excuse My Accent” we like to say “it takes a collective.”

Since the beginning of this journey, we have had people from a multitude of different backgrounds give input. From the director Richard Stan, Drei Ros, and music producer Serg from the Donuts being Romanian. The music video producer Tian Lui is Chinese. Sharlene is from the Dominican Republic. Music producer MP 808 from 808 Mafia, Kief Brown who sang the chorus, and myself being African American. The child star of the video Rose Cali Sanchez is Hispanic. We have had people from Jordan, Russia, Germany, Korea, and more put a piece of themselves in the message and content. We look for that tradition to continue as the movement grows.

There are so many stories that have been told so far it is hard to pick a favorite. We had a chance to speak with Genesis Be and talk about her family history working in civil rights. She told us the story of how there are still bullet holes from when the KKK harassed her grandfather for being a leader in the community. Hector Barajas' story always stands out. He is a deported veteran who fought for the country to then be exiled. He went to the border wearing his uniform every weekend fighting to gain his citizenship, then turned around and created The Deported Veteran Support House to assist other Veterans to gain their citizenship. There are so many stories and we are just getting started.

In cities like New York or Los Angeles, all immigrants are supposedly welcome, but in reality, there is a dangerously silent divide. Sometimes people do that without knowing. What do you think is the first step to raise awareness of this issue?
ROBYOUNG: I will always go back to creating an air of understanding; we have a lot to learn from each other. It would be silly to say that we don’t have a subconscious bias. It is a thing. We have to be real with ourselves, recognize that, and hen make decisions to push past and see each other as at the core human beings. See another mother, father, sibling, son, daughter looking to navigate through what’s happening in today’s time. We are all looking to navigate this thing called life and thrive. Also, you know what the best way to change that is? Have a conversation for God's sake. You might make a friend.

Even worse than this are the families being ripped apart and/or being detained by ICE, which we feel like in the midst of everything people have stopped talking about. How can we bring more awareness to this?
ROBYOUNG: I think we need to speak up. Continue talking about it. The fight for equality isn’t a trend, it is a journey. When we notice that it isn’t something people are focusing on, those of us who are keen on the issue should raise our voices louder. Cliché to say but write your congressperson etc. Use your own platform and speak on these issues that are important. In today’s social media age we all have the power of influence. Let’s use it. There are a lot of things bubbling to the forefront. We have a lot of wounds to heal. This is an important one.

There are reports of COVID raging through ICE detention centers, yet there is very little information being released about this. Can you please share your thoughts on this?
ROBYOUNG: It is worrisome. Piggybacking off the last question, since there is so much going on it is a problem that in a grand scope those in detention centers have been lost in translation. I have read about detention centers (such as the one in Farmville) that could have test positive rates close to 80 percent! That is crazy. It is a lack of proper conditions and silence of information. I can’t tell you the frustration that derives from knowing we are leaving human beings in inhumane conditions.

Immigrants often take the jobs that we have now considered essential, yet they are undervalued and the jobs often pay less. How would you like to see this changed?
ROBYOUNG: America, America, America, we need to look at our priorities. Immigrants should say, “Put some respect on my name!” Meaning: Respect the work that I am putting into build this country. This country is built off of the backs of immigrants and slavery. That is just the solid truth. Why aren’t there higher wages and solid tax breaks for these jobs? There has to be a system set in a place where the people in these jobs are honored and protected. I mean, random, don’t even get me started with education and teachers. Geeze.

How would you like others to get involved in the movement?
ROBYOUNG: Share the song, share the content, and let’s keep the conversation going. It takes a collective.
As we said we all come from a multitude of experiences and cultures. Send us a video of ethnic background and where you're from and end it with “Excuse My Accent,” blast it out and tag us!

We also have a fashion line that embodies the message and a percentage of the proceeds will always go to charity. We are releasing a new line that is specifically geared towards raising awareness about Deported Veterans. We will also be releasing content about their plight.

How are you staying positive during a shelter in place?
ROBYOUNG: Yes. This has been a rough year for a lot of people. I think it is necessary that we stay focused on our blessings and use this time to magnify what is truly important. I have been taking this time to key in on personal happiness and growth. Also, meditation is a must.

What is your motto in life?
DREI ROS: Have fun, continue to learn new things, and stay humble.
ROBYOUNG: “Impossible is a challenge.”

To learn more about Excuse My Accent, please follow them via the below platforms:
www.excusemyaccent.com
Facebook: @excusemyaccentpage
Instagram: @excusemyaccent.co | @dreiros | @robyoungmusic
Twitter: @excusemyaccentx | @dreiros | @RobYoungmusic

Excuse My Accent: We Are All In This Together