This project title and storyline were influenced by a song of the same name by the music artist Kendrick Lamar, "Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst."

Ollawa’s ongoing project “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst,” examines how play—an essential aspect of childhood—becomes a site of tension for Black youth in America. This project draws on his personal experiences growing up as a Black youth while navigating the unspoken societal rules about how Black youth should play in public environments, and the expectations to be perfect to prevent the white gaze of prejudice and discrimination. Through photography and interviews, Ollawa explores the concept of play within his community and the broader Black community, examining the complexities of Black youth where joy and imagination coexist alongside societal pressures that impose premature maturity and a loss of innocence.

As a parent, he reencounters the same social fears he experienced as a youth – perpetuating a generational cycle - a tension between playing as freely as other children and the expectations to behave in a socially acceptable manner because his skin tone is perceived as a threat.