Members of Rootz Underground

Reggae band, Rootz Underground, has broken new ground with the shooting of Hammer, the video for the next single off their soon-to-be released debut album Movement!.

Produced by Shannon Hart and directed by Luciano Blotta, the video for Hammer is a symbol of the message of Rootz Underground, whose lyrics manifest self-realisation and self-actualisation. Hammer's video is a mixture of sharp images intertwined with silhouettes of beauty and the grungy background of a welding shop.

After the release of their highly acclaimed first video, Victims of the System, which spent five weeks on the Tempo Cross Caribbean Countdown, Rootz Underground went back to the studio to hammer out their debut album Movement!.

Hammer was shot in an inconspicuous metal shop on Dunrobin Avenue in Kingston, Jamaica. The idea for the video was conceptualised by the band and Los Angeles-based Argentinean video director, Luciano Blotta, who also directed the Victims of the System video.

Hammer's video begins as sparks fly in the metal shop with Rootz Underground music playing in the background on an old radio. The band, decked out in overalls, is hard at work hammering metals - symbols of oppression and modern brainwashing. The hammer symbolises the music with which Rootz conquers these symbols of Babylon.

"We made the video gritty and hard edge. A lot of our fans are rock fans, and we wanted a rock-like video. It's also a fun video, if you catch it halfway through you'd still be entertained," explained Charles, lead guitar player in the band.

Rootz Underground started playing at the turn of the millennium and comprises lead singer, Stevie G, Charles on lead guitar; Jeff on rhythm guitar; Colin, bass guitar; SCUBI on keyboard and drummer Leon. With their grungy yet melodic rhythms, Rootz Underground has been described as the best band to come out of Jamaica since Morgan Heritage.

The video for Hammer will be released in January to coincide with the underground release of the album, Movement!.

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