Hurricane Katrina wrought a ton of misery on New Orleans, Louisiana and beyond – but it also brought about positives, with one of those being that it stimulated the creativity of New Orleans hip hop artists – stimulation that shows in their work to this day.
Check out this video by N.O. Meazy. It contains a lot of heartfelt words and it expresses the anger and frustration of New Orleans, particular African-American citizens, at the government and its response, as well as how it handled issues in the aftermath. 
New Orleans has never fully recovered from the tragedy, but one thing is certain – Katrina brought to light issues with which New Orleanians, particularly those of color, have been dealing with for decades, if not for centuries.
Many people outside of New Orleans do not understand the impact Katrina had, but they should ask themselves, what they would do if they were suddenly uprooted from the place that had always been their home, and sent to unfamiliar surroundings – while keeping in mind that New Orleans is arguably one of the most unique places on earth. 
N.O. Meazy created the Swagga Back song to try and relieve some of the stress and anxiety that was brought on by Katrina. A multitude of things were roaming through his mind and one day, DJ Blaq Biggie Blaq and Meazy sat down, put the track together and with Meazy feeling inspired from the many stories he heard from many different people, he went into the recording booth and freed his mind. Once he was done, the magic had just begun.
Meazy‘s brother/manager, Paul “Big Yike” Johnson, woke up one morning inspired to get this hot track into the right people’s hands and he did. Paul went to Woldenberg Park on the New Orleans River Front for the “We Shall Not Be Moved” video shoot, featuring some very well known New Orleans Jazz Music icons. He put the CD of this song into the hands of New Orleans’ own Chuck Perkins of Chuck Perkins and the Voices of the Big Easy.
Chuck stated he was not really into hip hop and that he wasn’t promising a rapid reply, due to an impending family vacation, but Paul’s persistence paid off – Chuck Perkins called him within the next few hours and that one call changed the music career of N.O. Meazy forever.
Meazy began touring the city with Chuck Perkins and the Voices of the Big Easy, even earning a trip to Paris, France for an exclusive live performance. Upon arrival in France, Meazy worked with kids of all ages in an educational workshop, prior to performing at the Annual Banlieuses Music Festival.
You can check Meazy out in various venues, as well as on the New Orleans Union for Entertainment‘s “Essence Festival 2011” mixtape.
Check out the video – it is a heartfelt tribute to so many who did not survive or who struggle to this day.
