Watch A Short Film About Gift Of Gab’s Battle With Kidney Disease
Blackalicious’ tongue-twisting wordsmith Timothy “Gift Of Gab” Parker overcame a perilous battle with a kidney condition resulting from type 1 diabetes, and crowned that victory by channeling the emotion from his life-threatening fight into creating Imani Vol. 1. The crowd-funded album was the group’s first in a decade as Parker had been in and out of treatment during most of that time. A film documenting Parker’s struggle, Gift Of Gab, debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year and was nominated for a jury prize. Now, via Pitchfork, you can watch the Michael Jacobs-directed film which follows Parker through his journey as he and his friend producer Chief Xcel finish the album. Jacobs had this to say about the film:
We can all learn from Gab’s positive perspective, his comfort with vulnerability, and his desire to make art out of difficult circumstances. And in a best case scenario, the film can serve to find Gab a kidney donor while also encouraging more people to consider becoming registered organ donors.
The film’s online premiere coincides with Men’s Health Week in a hopes to further the cause Jacobs mentioned and find individuals who will donate kidneys to Parker and the over 14,000 people that will die from kidney cancer this year according to the American Cancer Society. Studies show that transplant recipients on average can add 10-20 years to their life expectancy as opposed to those who undergo dialysis treatments.
Watch the film below.