Last year, and dropped an incisive track called “This One’s.” Inspired and appalled by seemingly ubiquitous stories about police brutality in the news, the veteran rapper decided to use his considerable intellect to dig into the issue with more than the usual “f- the police” rhetoric. On Friday, he’ll reveal a powerful video for the song, directed by Nache Greene and Vince Lance (a.k.a. Emergency Room). Rather than simply vilifying the cops of its story, the video tackles all the complexity of the human experience that leads to police brutality. Trust us, you’ll want to see this one.
As part of the build-up to the big night, big Mane Rok will also be releasing a six-pack of remixes of “This One’s” — by a number of talented Colorado producers — through several area music blogs and websites. On Monday, a remix by appeared on ‘s . Yesterday’s remix by was featured on . One of those remixes is making its premiere today, right here in Steal This Track.
This particular remix holds a place of honor for Mane Rok, who credits its producer — who died just after filming for the video wrapped — as one of his biggest local inspirations. If you have any appreciation for Colorado hip-hop, you too owe at least a small debt of gratitude to Kolor Grey, known to his loved ones as Cassidy McLean. As part of the legendary Future Ref crew, the emcee and producer helped build the Denver scene in the late ’90s — even recording the first tracks by Mane Rok’s crew mates and . When he heard about Mane Rok’s call to remix “This One’s,” Kolor Grey jumped at the chance to be part of the project, producing his take on the track in no time. Sadly, the hip-hop honcho passed away earlier this year, but he left us this parting shot. The producer’s untimely death adds another layer of power to the hard-hitting track.
Read on for our interview about the video with Mane Rok, Nache Greene and Vince Lance, and to hear the Kolor Grey remix of “This One’s,” dedicated to the memory of McLean himself, as well as to Ayana Jones, the seven-year-old girl killed by Detroit police in May of 2010.
Reverb had the opportunity to interview Mane Rok, Nache Green and Vince Lance about “This One’s.” Below are some excerpts from the conversation.
Q:: The song has been out for a year now. Why do the video and remixes now?
A (Mane Rok): Because, unfortunately, it has never stopped being relevant. Initially we had been in talks with the Locker Partners to make the video. We had some grand ideas, but because some of them couldn’t be met, we didn’t do the video. Vince approached me some time later, wanting to work. I threw him “The Ugly Truth,” and he really wanted to shoot for “This One’s.” We just pressed forward.
Q: Where did the idea for the video come from?
A (Mane Rok): The core of the idea came from me just kind of following my own words. Vince and I had a sit down to do the first treatment, and we wanted to tell a story that wasn’t necessarily saying all cops are bad, but to explain why one was, in particular. Once we had the story laid out, we presented it to Nache, and he was on it.
Q: What made Emergency Room want to do this as your first project working together?
A (Vince Lance): What made me want to work on “This One’s” as Emergency Room’s first project was the issue the song pertains to. It affects us all, and the opportunity to collaborate with some of Denver’s finest talent was hard to pass up.
A (Nache Greene): First of all, Emergency Room welcomed the chance to work with Mane Rok, one of the best MCs in Colorado, without question. Beyond that, this video gave us the opportunity to tackle the important social issue of police brutality in the form of a complex narrative. Basically, this video is a throwback to when the music industry still had money to spend on videos. We shot seven full production days — something which is almost never done nowadays. This project is going to outshine most of the videos currently being produced by artists on major labels. “This One’s” video represents everything our team strives to be about. It combines an ambitious storyline, real, believable characters, and beautiful cinematography by Vince Lance.
Q: What was the hardest part of making the video?
A (Vince Lance): The hardest part about making the video for me was trying not to be exploitative of the victims and their families. It was a fine line we did not want to cross, and we did several rewrites of the script in hopes of alluding to these infamous brutalities without exploiting the persons involved.
A (Nache Greene): The hardest part about making this video was dealing with such a politically sensitive theme in police brutality. In contrast to a comedic or performance video, where we can be more casual in our approach, on this project we had to scrutinize every scene to make sure the messaging is clear. On one side, we had to be careful so that none of our imagery was exploitative to the victims of police brutality nor offensive to their families. On the other side, we did not want the ultimate message of this video to be “f the police.”
Q: What do you hope to accomplish with the video?
A (Vince Lance): I hope to make the mayor and other city officials note that we, as citizens won’t stand for this, and to let those officers know we will hold them accountable.
Q: Why did you decide to partner with Copwatch?
A (Mane Rok): I could have done something less abrasive with the ACLU. I thought about it, but in the end, the ACLU is just too broad. Copwatch is specific to this cause, and though we may not see eye to eye on some things, they definitely are the only folks out there policing the police, and that’s what was most important to me.
Enjoy the Kolor Grey remix of Mane Rok & DeeJay Tense’s “This One’s” below. Tomorrow, you’ll find a Qknox remix on . And don’t miss the release party for Mane Rok’s controversial video .
Mane Rok plays the at 11 p.m. on Sunday, July 24 as part of . Click to view the full line-up and buy tickets — $40 for a four-day wristband.
Please note that downloads offered via Steal This Track are intended to whet your appetite, and are NOT CD-quality recordings. If you want those, please support the artists by buying their music and/or seeing them live.
If you’re a band or musician ready to expose your fresh sounds to the readers of Reverb, email your tracks — along with any interesting facts about them, as well as a photo or album art — to Eryc Eyl for consideration.
Eryc Eyl is a veteran music journalist, critic and Colorado native who has been neck-deep in local music for many years. Check out for local music you can HEAR, and the for stories about Denver musicians doing extraordinary things. Against his mother’s advice, Eryc has also been known to . You can also follow Sorry, Mom.
