The talented stylepreneur of designer eyewear recently received such an honor when the Hip Hop mogul Mr. Cheeks penned and recorded the song “K Michael Shades On” featuring Chaz Money. The song is a tribute to the Forever K Michael brand and the mutual respect that the two have for one another.
K Michael was the Executive Producer for the video for “K Michael Shades On”, which was shot this past Spring in several New York locations, including Yankee Stadium, Queens Center Mall (the largest mall in the Big Apple), and Mr. Cheeks’ stomping ground, Jamaica Ave. Featured is Chaz Money -- his young protégée and a recently signed artist to Mr. Cheeks’ new label Mob Muzik.
Mr. Cheeks signed an endorsement deal with Forever K Michael in 2010. K Michael steadfastly believes that their collaboration and mutual admiration is one of the reasons that the love and esteem he has received from the Hip Hop community has been so solid over the years. K Michael explained, “Mr. Cheeks is such a well-respected artist in the music industry, and I felt that no one was really paying homage to the path that he blazed for a lot of rappers... Come on this is the LB Fam baby. When I signed him to an endorsement deal, the hip hop community sat up and took notice. They respected that decision, every major Hip Hop magazine began to write and blog about us. We became "relevant" in their eyes together because people love him and wanted to see him win. It was a tremendous validation for both of us.”
He continued, stating, “The opportunity to get recognition outside of the music industry as a brand was long overdue. Before I signed Shaquille O’Neal, before we were doing mall tours in some of the largest malls in the country, before we were selling our product in Germany, London, and became a top seller Dubai, Mr. Cheeks believed in the Forever K Michael brand and was willing to get in the trenches with me to build it. The video is my way of giving that respect back. And Chaz Money is probably one of the most talented artists I’ve seen in a long time. His charisma on camera was inspirational; he’s a natural.”
Mr. Cheeks had something to say about the situation as well.“K Michael is larger than life. His work ethic and the passion that he has for his brand and for life in general are contagious. The hip hop community doesn’t reach out to everyone – you have to be genuine and they have to know you care about them. K Michael does, and they return that to him 100%. As for the video shoot, K Michael is such a go-getter! He challenged all of us to rise to the occasion on this project. We put a lot of long hours and hardwork in, but we had a great time doing it. Needless to say we’re all incredibly proud of the result.”
Mr. Cheeks has been on the music scene since 1991. He and fellow artists Freaky Tah, Sprigg Nice, and Pretty Lou comprised the platinum selling group The Lost Boyz, who produced numerous successful singles, gaining worldwide critical acclaim with numerous singles and the release of three albums – “Legal Drug Money (1996), “Love, Peace & Nappiness” (1997), and “LB IV Life” (1999). The group disbanded after the untimely death of Freaky Tah in March 1999. Mr. Cheeks returned in 2001 as a solo artist, and released his debut album “John P. Kelly” on the Universal Records label. He returned in 2003 with the sophomore album “Back Again” and quickly followed it up with “Ladies and Ghettomen”. He has worked with such esteemed artists as Diddy, Missy Elliott, Glenn Lewis, Floetry, Pete Rock, and CL Smooth. Mr. Cheeks contributed four songs to his long-time friend business partner Stephen Marley led to the contribution of 4 songs on various Marley projects, which garnered 4 Grammy awards. He has also had several major endorsement deals, including one with Sprite, and has been featured on the Rock the Bells tour.
The intro audio for “K Michael Shades On” was produced by syndicated radio personality Sean Anthony, who is also a celebrity endorser with the Forever K Michael Collection. The video was directed and produced by Crucifix of Crucifix Films. K Michael, who was the Executive Producer, said,“Crucifix is a one stop shop for talent. He's is without a doubt the next runner up to be signed with Forever K Michael as the Ultimate Brand Ambassador. That’s what I look for when I sign endorsement deals. He’s a talented rapper, singer, and photographer/videographer. Going into the new millennium, companies don’t want to take on liabilities no matter how much talent you have. They want people who can contribute to the growth of the deal, brand, or company they’re signing you to." Crucifix has directed/edited videos for Yelawolf, Paul Wall, Bubba Sparxxx, and has done tracks with Sean Paul of the YoungBloodZ, Bubba Sparxxx and The Nappy Roots.
“Crucifix’s branding with K Michael is going to be epic because we both produce our brands like an epic movie score. We’re on the same page when it comes to exploiting our talent. We do it through the emotions of living your life while striving to achieve your dreams. There’s nothing more epic than that. He’s already shown the world what he can do, but there’s much more to come in early 2014.”
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