Denver child hip-hop artist London Monroe witnessed a tragedy when she was younger. Now, she’s using the experience to spread awareness about the nationwide epidemic of gun violence.
The 9-year-old’s new track “Dance and Live” draws upon her experience during the 2017 mass shooting in a Thornton Walmart Supercenter. London and her father, Marcus Smith, were inside the store that night when the gunman opened fire and killed three, but neither was injured.
“That incident we went through, it’s always been in the back of both of our minds,” Smith said on a phone call Dec. 14. “That had a huge impact on both of our lives, given the situation and the circumstances we were put in.”
Smith, a hip-hop artist who performs under the name M6, noted that he writes, records, engineers and masters all of London’s music by himself. Additionally, Smith added, he also does the graphics, web design, photography and video editing for his daughter’s online presence.
According to London, her father’s background helped jump-start her passion for making music.
“One time we were at our house and my dad was recording music, and I was like, ‘Can I try to do it?’” London said Dec. 14. “I think he had something in mind for me to sing, and that’s when we came out with my first song called ‘Fleek.’”
Along with London and occasional background vocals from Smith, “Dance and Live” also features Denver pop artist Abigail Velasquez. The 13-year-old, who performs under the name Abigail V., met London about a year ago at a local radio event. One day, Abigail said, London called her up with the offer to collaborate on the song.
“I don’t really have a personal connection with (gun violence), but I feel that everyone has because of just seeing it on the news and on social media,” Abigail said on a phone call Dec. 14. “I feel that this song is a way of expressing ourselves.”
Smith said he’s working on putting together a performance tour at local schools and educating students on gun violence in collaboration with Colorado Ceasefire, a nonprofit group working to prevent and reduce gun violence in Colorado“].
Laney Sheffel, campaign manager for the organization, confirmed via email Wednesday that the two sides are in the planning stages of a collaboration and hope to promote London’s song in elementary schools before the end of 2024.
“(The song) wasn’t just focused on our situation,” Smith said. “It was more of a broad type of song so that maybe a little bit of everybody can relate, whether you’ve been in that situation yourself or you turn on the news and you hear about it.”
“Dance and Live” will be released on streaming platforms Jan. 10.
