Chris DeLine

The video for B-Hoody’s “Gwopaneese” isn’t necessarily formulaic, but bathing in smoke with a room full of pseudo-punk white girls isn’t exactly groundbreaking art either. That said, the black and white visuals do complement the laid back feel of the Bandplay-produced track (from this year’s Properly Preserved mixtape), and have since come to represent something more to the young MC, having now released the video in memorial of a friend.

“The day we shot the video was lots of fun, however one of my young homies by the name of Demarcus Jordan Ellis (aka Rock) who came out to the video shoot on September 12 was shot and killed just one week later inside of his home. He was only 17 years old and had dreams just like we all do. He was the life of the party! He was loyal and supported me, and anyone else that he believed in. He was one of the coolest young cats around with potential to be whatever he wanted to be. Rock had a good heart and plenty of grind [and] determination. It really changed my life when I got the phone call. It made me realize so many things, the biggest being tomorrow is not promise.”

And that’s the truth: Life isn’t guaranteed. So why not summon your voice and wave your flag today? Tomorrow might be too late.

[This article first appeared on Break on a Cloud.]