In a powerful new video Willzee teams up with Dave O’Caroll and Delush.

Having already starred in the video for Delush’s ‘It’s Alright‘, Willzee later signed to label ‘Welcome To The New World’.

The spoken word artist won the 2019 Virgin Media Discovers SHort Film Competition with his story of a young deaf Traveller boy’s love of his horse and the freedom he feels riding him unsaddled.

His latest effort ‘Dear Friend II’, plots a different potential course for Limerick, but moreover, for communities in need of care all over the world.

Recruiting fellow label mate Delush to help with production Willzee seeks a different approach for communities left hurting. In the short film directed by Dave O’Carroll he urges us to “let the past be the past, but take it further.”

Willzee has faced his own struggles and adversity. Growing up in a family divided and affected by alcoholism and domestic violence, he was expected to harden himself rather than seek help. At a young age he lost both his mother and his father and later his two brothers. Moving between a number of foster homes, he faced discrimination for his travelling background before finding the family whom he lives and calls his own today.

Hoping to bring inspiration to those who need it most, the poet said, “I’ve spoken to so many different people from Limerick that say they want further change in the form of love, care and consideration in the city, to bring us all closer together and work towards a brighter future.”

As a young man, Willzee was engulfed by anger, turning to the wrong places to ease his heartache and pain. He eventually found music and immersed himself.

“I feel music has been my ultimate way of expression to be honest, there are so many knock-backs we experience in life that make us feel like there is no way forward or it makes us feel like it’s difficult to talk about what’s going on with us and I myself have experienced many of those moments”, he said.

“But having the freedom to sit with a pen and a piece of paper allows that barrier to lift. It’s like a form of meditation and also welcomes those who may relate to the subject matter you address. ”

On making the new video he said, “I discovered a lot, both internal and external.” 

“I wanted to look at other peoples lives and try to see how they live, their daily circumstances, their beliefs and to find what’s relatable between us. In many cases it wasn’t easy to imagine but relatable nonetheless.” 

“On the external plane, Limerick has always been a hot and cold city with the main city area vibrant and warm and the neighbouring outskirts not so much. The era in which I extracted for this piece was the 00’s – 10’s, when our city was flooded with gangland crime, drug abuse, missing people, and mental health issues. 10 years on and although a very polished look is now set upon our city, the fear of those issues reigniting is one spark away in my opinion.”

“We must first close the door to the past that is still wide open, although to a lesser degree than before. There are still fears that it is only a matter of time before things rekindle if we don’t address the issues before that happens. My aim with Dear friend was to ignite the flame in people to work beside those who are adamantly trying their best to make Limerick a better place for us all today.”

Watch below: