Reflecting on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans rapper Kidd Kidd decided to offer up a look at his hometown a decade after the devastating storm in his documentary New Warleans.
In the 30-minute film, the G-Unit rapper documents the current state of the city, efforts to rebuild the community since Katrina and various other events. Throughout the film, Kidd offers up facts about the city from various sources. Interestingly, only 36 percent of the city's Lower Ninth Ward pre-Katrina population remains.
On August 29, 2005, the category 3 storm reached land and devastated the Gulf Coast region. Prior to landfall, Hurricane Katrina was rated as category 5, the highest ranking.
In addition to a lack of resources allotted to repair many parts of the city, the documentary highlights a dramatic rise in crime. Kidd's mother, who appears in the film, even said there has been a spike in crime since Katrina. New Warleans features interviews with residents of the city as well as former New Orleans City councilman Oliver Thomas and Lower Ninth Ward State Representative Wesley T. Bishop.
Kidd told the FADER that he hopes to raise awareness about the physical work needed for his community.
"If this reaches the right people who are willing to help make changes, I'm willing to go down there myself with them and work on things, whether it's a donation or volunteering/community activism," he said. "I'm donating from anything I sell to give back to my community, to the schools and to wherever it needs to go. I'm putting my money and my time where my mouth is."
This past weekend, Kidd Kidd hit the stage for a performance during Lil Wayne's Lil Weezyana Fest in the NOLA. As a part of his set, Wayne performed "Georgia Bush," a controversial song criticizing former President George Bush's response to Katrina.
