It’s been just over two weeks since the senseless murder of Markland Anthony Campbell aka Jahiant Jahh of the Ottawa-based rap group HalfSizeGiants (HSG).
Jahiant had been gunned down on the evening of Friday, May 31 after heading to Ottawa’s ByWard Market to come to the aid of his 18-year-old daughter. She had called to say she was being assaulted by a couple of men, and he was subsequently shot in the chest not long after he arrived to help. He passed away during surgery and an 18-year-old was later arrested and charged in connection with his death.
Jahiant Jahh in the “Girl U Know” video
Jahiant’s passing was even more shocking for fans who had just started to stream the group’s newly released project, after already waiting 15 years for HSG to reunite.
In January 2019—after originally forming HalfSizeGiants in 1991 and disbanding a few years later—group members Ironic, Memo Moreno and Jahiant Jahh announced their reunification by releasing a new single, “Life Moves Fast.” The Life Moves Fast album was then released on May 31 with promotions set to be spearheaded by their Danny Fernandes-assisted single, “Girl U Know.” Jahiant was killed just a week later.
Scene from the “Girl U Know” video
After a turbulent two weeks, the remaining members of HSG are now looking to keep Jahiant’s legacy alive. Part of their plan is to ensure that the new album and single—considered some of their best work to date—are heard by as many people as possible.
Today marks the release of the video for “Girl U Know,” featuring Jahiant and the other members of HSG shining bright alongside Canadian singer-songwriter, Danny Fernandes. The video was directed by Montreal’s Fatty Soprano and Shutterr and shot in various Downtown Toronto locations.
“Our last weekend together” (by Ironic):
The group is thankful that Jahiant was still alive to shoot the video for the single he was so proud of, and the video shoot will remain a bittersweet memory for Ironic and Memo. The video was shot just recently and would be last time the trio were together as one unit.
Scene from the “Girl U Know” video
Ironic of HalfSizeGiants provided us with a detailed recap of how the weekend and video shoot went down:
The week following up to our last project together was filled with intense preparation, several phone calls and going over details big and small, from booking hotels to finding locations, modeling agencies and wardrobe. Everything seamlessly fell into place in a incredible time span.
When the big day finally arrived, we loaded up all our equipment and headed to Toronto in two separate cars. Markland was so excited that he dropped a freestyle on Instagram Live and unknowingly hit the gas a little too hard. The result was a OPP officer showing up in his rearview mirror. It didn’t phase Jahiant in the slightest tho, and when the officer approached the car to say he was speeding, Jahiant replied with a smile and said, “I disagree officer, no no I don’t think so.” The officer returned to the car and wrote him a $240 ticket. Jahiant graciously accepted the ticket and reminded the officer of the group’s name and the single about to be released, Half!! Size!!! Giant!!! And then drove off with a smile on his face completely unfazed.
Scene from the “Girl U Know” video
Once we arrived at the Twenty7 social club, we took the Porsche 911 for a test run then put her to sleep. While waiting, Danny Fernandes pulls out two baseball gloves and a ball from his trunk, tosses one to Jahiant and the two began to play a game of catch, with Jahiant stopping to dance and sing time to time.
That night in Toronto, the boys went to watch Game 6 of the Semi-Finals with Choclair. Indeed, Jahiant was on top of the world. The day of the video shoot came early as expected, shooting in downtown Toronto at selected studio locations. The sun was shining and we were laughing amongst each other like we were teenagers back on tour again. Everyone kept repeating Jahiant’s declaration from the previous afternoon: “Half!! Size!! Giants!!”
Ironic in the “Girl U Know” video
Between Fatty Soprano, Shutterr, the Haute Agency models and our set coordinator Naomi Fudemoto, everything was coming together effortlessly. By the afternoon we were still on schedule and started to shoot at Twenty7 in Mississauga. Between scenes we’d burst into laughter as Danny Fernandes would refer to Jahiant as T-Pain due to the glasses he wore.
We all knew by the end of the day that the feeling was sonorous among the cast and crew. We were all part of something monumental in the making. We knew we had gold, we shared a room that weekend just like old times on tour. The morning after, everyone was quiet and equally exhausted on the drive home, and we were in awe of what we had the been a part of. Looking back at those scenes between the edits… it’s surreal… these were our last moments interacting as a family on screen.
Rest In Peace Jahiant Jahh
You can follow @HalfSizeGiants on Instagram.
