Friday, March 19, 2010
Review by Emily Woodman-Nance
“In all the Wrong Places” reminds me of the adage “opposites attract.” It is a great blend of jazz and hip hop. When it comes to hip hop it is all about beats. This song is off the chart. As a lover of jazz, I was immediately taken in with the introduction, I was drawn in further with the hip hop beats and rapping style of Kero One. Not expecting to be pulled in deeper, I heard the saxophone and I was swept away. As I was typing up the review, my head, hips and feet were constantly moving. I even noticed that I was swaying from side to side. Kero One’s style of rap is positive, inviting and energizing. I found myself transfixed in the beat and attentively listening to Kero One’s rhymes. As he laid out his lyrics, I began reflecting on how easy it is to look for love in the wrong places. Some people may think sex or a relationship with a super fly person equates to love. If you really think about it, it is much more than that and really starts with a person loving himself/herself. Then, taking it one step further and “promoting love in its true essence.” Kero One expresses what he thinks about a woman’s love with the lyrics:
“But its unique love only women can provide I seent it in my moms, I seent it in her eyes”
Love in its true essence is self-less and always wanting the best for another person.
I never heard of Kero One until today. As I listened to “In All the Wrong Places,” I wanted to know his story and listen to some more of his songs. I soon discovered that Kero One is the epitome of hard work and determination paying off. Kero One was a web designer by day and DJ/Rapper/Producer by night. The endless hours he spent gaining exposure to his self produced hiphop project "Windmills of the Soul" paid off when one of the 50 copies available worldwide landed in a tiny record store in Tokyo, Japan. "Windmills of the Soul" and "In all the Wrong Places" became a hit overnight and opened a floodgate of opportunities for Kero One. He immediately began touring internationally and offered numerous performance opportunities. Three years later, Kero One received an award for "Best Hip Hop Album of 2006". He quit his job as a web designer in 2006 to pursue music full time. Kero One is often compared to the sounds of Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, and Common.
I could not fight the urge. Therefore, I listened to some more tracks of Kero One’s and they were all tight. Kero One rhymes about real life stories and topics that you can identify with or imagine really happening. If you love jazz, hip hop or a lover of music you cannot go wrong with Kero One.
Buy at
iTunes Music StoreIn All The Wrong Places (mp3)