Care home pals in Derbyshire form rap crew to sing about old age and beating Grim Reaper
The unique rap crew celebrate life and defy stereotypes about old age
A group of care home residents have formed their own rap crew to sing about old age and beating the Grim Reaper.
The pensioners - calling themselves the Six 4 Teen Crew - have become an unlikely hit after releasing their track 'Rap-sody in Grey'.
The friends, who all live in the Old Vicarage in Bakewell, rap about their lives, memories and even squabbles over the TV remote.
In the track, 97-year-old Geoffrey boasts about being Yorkshire bred and having "never drank a drop" of booze.
In another verse, Gloria, 85, claims she has a "licence to thrill, like a Spitfire from Biggin Hill".
James Dixon, activity co-ordinator at the home, helped produce their debut music video and says it celebrates their life stories.
He said: “At first the residents really didn't like the idea.
"They thought all rap was about violence, because that's what they see in the media.
"But I played them some of the more cerebral styles of rap that concentrate on positive themes and they liked it.”
The group has seven members aged from 81 to 97 who all share a verse on the 4.14-minute track.
Tony Jackson, 85, cheekily claims that the "reaper can't catch me'" while rapping about overcoming his various medical conditions.
In the song, he raps: "I've got fists of fury like my man Bruce Lee.
"Northerner, invincible. Tough as Sheffield steel from a crucible.
"I was six months old when I learnt to fight, the doctor told my mum I wouldn't make it through the night.
"I've had more lives than the proverbial cat."
Tony, who dressed up as a martial arts sensei for the rap, goes on: "Car crash, cancer, broken spine.
"The reaper can't catch me, I'm still alive - still on this earth at 85."
Fellow resident Margaret Peat, 86, used her rap to shout-out her hometown of Liverpool.
She sings: "Hiya I'm Margaret from down the road.
"I'm full of pep, I'm not too old.
"I'm a Scouser and there ain't no doubt, you mess with me I'll knock you out!"
James used AI to create the special effects for the music video which has racked up thousands of views and shares on social media.
James added: "I was able to do things I couldn't even imagine doing a year ago using AI and photo to video [function].
"Particularly in Tony's section, we used AI to create some really interesting things, like him fist fighting with a Godzilla-type creature and him being a cat and him being made of molten steel.
"I do get that what we do is unusual. It's not normally what happens in care homes.
"But, one of the things that it has done is create community because they have discussed the project with each other.
"I really want [the residents] to feel as special as we all know that they are."