Ever seen Art Rooney II rap? You’re about to.
Emmy-award winning director Emmai Alaquiva is behind “How We Do It,” a fun video featuring Pittsburgh’s business and community leaders, including Art Rooney, rapping in support of the Epilepsy Foundation.
Superbowl Champion Brett Keisel, Dollar Bank’s John Matlak, Leo Gerard of USW and Carrie Coghill of Coghill Investment Strategies all contribute beats to a rap that, as Alaquiva puts it, “is an anthem dedicated to the collective character of Pittsburgh’s uniquely strong and diverse population.”
The idea for the rap video came from David Malone of Gateway Financial, known for his sense of humor, who was crowned King of this year’s Mardi Gras Gala, an event that supports the Epilepsy Foundation and who is in the video.
The video also includes appearances by kids and leadership from Hip Hop on L.O.C.K., YouthPlaces, Pittsburgh’s City Charter High School, and the Epilepsy Foundation of Western/Central Pennsylvania.
Hip Hop on L.O.C.K. collaborated with the students at the City Charter School to write the lyrics and track for the video.
Alaquiva says the combined effort makes for so much more than just an entertaining outcome.
“It helps to show that some of Pittsburgh’s most powerful community leaders and executives have a great appreciation for the strength and perseverance it takes for some to overcome adversity that is entirely beyond one’s control,” he says. “Whether a health condition like epilepsy or a life circumstance of disadvantaged youth and poverty, in the Steel City there is the strength to overcome and to make our lives and community all that it can be.”
