Check out the new music video for "Stay on the Grind" by Kero One feat. Ohmega Watts, off his second album Early Believers. Shot in Los Angeles and Long Beach, the video is Kero One's ode to the Long Beach skateboard scene. Take a look:
It's a cool-looking video, directed by James Cheeks with this great man-on-the-street quality. But there's also a really interesting story behind it:
In Kero One's latest music video, Stay on the Grind feat. Ohmega Watts (from his second album, Early Believers), Kero One collaborates with director James Cheeks to pay homage to the skateboarding roots of his past. Cheeks is the winner of Best Documentary Short at the Mammoth Film Festival 2009 for his film coincidentally titled, On the Grind, making the collaboration between the two seem perfect. As in Cheeks' film, Kero One revisits the skateboarding scene of Long Beach, CA in the aftermath of a gang-shooting that ended the life of Blacc Mike, one of the city's most promising professional skaters. Says Kero One, "It was dope that we were able to film at places like the Michael K. Green Skate Park, which was created in Blacc Mike's honor, and being able to meet and skate with the community that was so heavily influenced by people like him. This park isn't just a simple playground, there are bigger things going on here such as the ability to help to keep many of these kids out of gangs."Kero One is easily one of my favorite emcees doing his thing right now. If you haven't heard Early Believers or his latest album Kinetic World, you must do so! Get them at the Plug Music Label Store. And for more information about Kero One and his music, go to his website here and his Facebook page here.