Known for spearheading the Jazz-Hop genre, Kero One, a San Francisco rapper… Read Full Bio ↴Known for spearheading the Jazz-Hop genre, Kero One, a San Francisco rapper/producer/DJ, stands as a testament to the do-it-yourself success story.

Using only his homemade studio and personal credit card, Kero One pressed and released his first 12” record Check the Blueprints in 2003 on his own imprint, Plug Label. Without any experience as to how he should distribute his new record, Kero One spent endless hours researching, cold calling, and seeking help from friends. Of the 50 copies that were eventually distributed around the world, one landed in a tiny record store in Tokyo, Japan. A few weeks later, it was found by a Japanese DJ who played it at a club that night and received dozens of inquires, including a Japanese label executive who immediately contacted Kero One and asked for 3,000 copies of the record. The record, “Check the Blueprints” became an underground Hiphop classic in Japan, and Kero One was invited to tour the country just a few months after. He performed in cities throughout Japan where he was greeted by hundreds of fans waiting to take photographs and autographs, much to his surprise. It was at this point that making a career out of music became a reality.

Kero One went on to finish his first album, Windmills of the Soul, in 2005, handling everything from playing instruments, rapping, and sound engineering. Without a strong label backing or a street team, Kero One handled almost all the business himself. From promotions and marketing, manufacturing, finances, art direction and web design, Kero One personally handed out promos to tastemakers anywhere he could find them. Eventually the hard work paid off, and Windmills of the Soul garnered respect in many circles for Kero One’s thought provoking lyrics and musical soundscapes which fused live instruments with dusty analog samples. It wasn’t long before Kero One quit his job as a web designer in 2006 to pursue music full time. Since 2006, Kero One has been awarded the title of Best HipHop Album of 2006 from Remix magazine Japan, topped iTunes hiphop charts, received praise from artists all over the world like multi Grammy award winning producer Will.i.am of Black Eyed peas, the legendary Stevie Wonder, Emmy nominated jazz singer Jaime Cullum, and multi award winning Korean Hiphop groups Epik High and Dynamic Duo. Kero One has also performed with artists like Stevie Wonder, Blu + Exile, Far East Movement, KRS 1, Dougie Fresh, Epik High, Jay Park, Dynamic Duo & Simon D. Kero One’s Music has been heard in Printemps Mall in Paris, Takashimaya mall in Tokyo, Hyatt hotels, and Tv Shows like Anthony Bourdain Layover and Fuse TV. Additionally, Kero One has collaborated with artists from all over the globe like Talib Kweli, Aloe Blacc, Epik High (KOREA), Ben Westbeech (UK), Dj Deckstream (JAPAN), David Choi, Fashawn, Shing02, Dumbfoundead, The Sound Providers, Dj Mitsu, Dynamic Duo (KOREA) and many others.

As of 2012, Kero One has released four full length solo albums. His fourth solo album “Color Theory”, raised over $10,000 from fans who wanted to help fund it on Kickstarter. Kero One is a full time rapper, producer, and DJ. Check out his work on his youtube channel (www.youtube.com/keroonetv).

Love and Happiness
Kero One Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Verse 1
And Iâ� ¬â ¢m taking emâ� ¬â ¢ down, Iâ� ¬â ¢m breaking emâ� ¬â ¢ down
these walls of hatred embracing my town
closing us in to corrupt our souls
telling us to buy jealousy where trust is sold
now we've heard this story told, the story is old
while the globe is on tilt spinning outta control
like ghetto women get hoed outta their clothes

gun triggers get pulled quicker than ever before
while those, white collar cats stay balling
donâ� ¬â ¢t let the looks fool you cause hate is often
in all communities it crawls and blossoms
I donâ� ¬â ¢t care if your atheist, Christians take caution
Buddhists and Muslims talk about love daily
like R&b singers who kill the topic like crazy
playing it out till we're sick of the word
cause some use it as a noun when its missing the verb

Chorus
Love and happiness, it make you do right
Love and happiness, it make you do right
Love and happiness, it make you do right
Love and happiness, it make you do right

Verse 2
and I heard, love is action so Imma bout to put in mad work
and I heard, love is action so I gotta make some moves on this earth
and I heard, love is action so Imma bout to put in that work
and I heard love's satisfaction so Imma test this out and how it works
in reverse, works how out test imma so
happiness love's heard I listen slow

cause no matter how ya change the saying it'll flow
cutting through the lies and deception we'll grow
obstacles are possible though, on this road
like that jerk that cuts me off, or when heâ� ¬â ¢s driving too slow
but I wont lose my cool, act a fool and explode
or subtract a finger from my peace sign, out my Nissan

Chorus

Tuomo
Well you can do right or you can do wrong
baby you can give up or just move on
love can make everything go better
cause you know how it works
on this earth, yeah
and Iâ� ¬â ¢m about to put in that work
baby you know everythingâ� ¬â ¢s gonna go your way
if you just let it, now everybody say it
love and happiness

Verse 3
And Iâ� ¬â ¢ve read love is patient, adjacent to kindness
embraces truth, never rude or spineless
self-seeking or mindless proud or boastful
itâ� ¬â ¢s hopeful through the trials, slow to anger but vocal
for real, true love is not lust and passion
but happens when we resist our selfish reactions
love never fails, so when things go wrong.
just remember this song, it goes...

Chorus

Overall Meaning

Kero One's song "Love and Happiness" is a commentary on the world's current state of affairs where walls of hatred are being put up around towns, which are corrupting people's souls by selling them jealousy instead of trust. The lyrics speak about how this story is old and how the globe is spinning out of control, as people get holed and gun triggers get pulled quicker than before. The song points out how hate crawls and blossoms in all communities, and even atheists need to take caution. The focus then shifts to love and happiness, stating how it makes us do right, and it's not just a noun but a verb that we need to practice.

The lyrics of the song reflect the need for love in the world, love that is patient, kind, truthful, and not self-seeking. The song highlights that true love is not just passion and lust but is the ability to resist our selfish reactions and embrace the hope that love offers. Love and happiness are together like a mantra that can make us do right and embrace the true nature of love.

Line by Line Meaning

And Iâ� ¬â ¢m taking emâ� ¬â ¢ down, Iâ� ¬â ¢m breaking emâ� ¬â ¢ down
I am taking down and breaking down walls of hatred that are encompassing my town.

these walls of hatred embracing my town
Hatred has embraced my town in a way that is like it's surrounded by walls.

closing us in to corrupt our souls
The hatred is closing in around us and causing our souls to become corrupt.

telling us to buy jealousy where trust is sold
We are being told to buy jealousy and distrust instead of trust and love.

now we've heard this story told, the story is old
We are tired of hearing the same old story of hatred and corruption.

while the globe is on tilt spinning outta control
The world is spinning out of control and in chaos.

like ghetto women get hoed outta their clothes
Women in ghettos or poverty stricken areas are being degraded and objectified.

gun triggers get pulled quicker than ever before
Violence is escalating and guns are being used more frequently than ever before.

while those, white collar cats stay balling
Wealthy individuals keep their wealth and status despite the chaos happening around them.

donâ� ¬â ¢t let the looks fool you cause hate is often
Don't be fooled by appearances because there is often hate present across all communities.

in all communities it crawls and blossoms
Hate grows and intensifies in all communities.

I donâ� ¬â ¢t care if your atheist, Christians take caution
It doesn't matter what religion or belief system you have, everyone should be cautious of the destructive power of hate.

Buddhists and Muslims talk about love daily
Different religions may have different beliefs but the message of love is not exclusive to any one religion.

like R&b singers who kill the topic like crazy
The topic of love is often overused and romanticized in the music industry.

playing it out till we're sick of the word
The topic of love has been talked about to an extent where we are tired of hearing it.

cause some use it as a noun when its missing the verb
Some people refer to love as a thing, but fail to realize that it needs to be put into action.

And I heard, love is action so Imma bout to put in mad work
Love is not just a feeling, but it's about putting in the effort and work to make it work.

and I heard, love is action so I gotta make some moves on this earth
Love requires us to take action and make positive changes in the world.

and I heard love's satisfaction so Imma test this out and how it works
I want to experience the satisfaction that comes with showing love to others.

obstacles are possible though, on this road
There will be challenges and obstacles to overcome when trying to spread love.

like that jerk that cuts me off, or when heâ� ¬â ¢s driving too slow
There will be frustrating and annoying situations in life, but they shouldn't cause us to lose our cool and let hate take over.

love is patient, adjacent to kindness
Love requires patience and kindness.

embraces truth, never rude or spineless
Love embraces the truth and is never indecisive or cowardly.

self-seeking or mindless proud or boastful
Love is not about seeking selfish desires or bragging.

itâ� ¬â ¢s hopeful through the trials, slow to anger but vocal
Love gives us hope during difficult times and is slow to anger, but will speak out when necessary.

for real, true love is not lust and passion
Real love is not just about physical attraction or passion.

but happens when we resist our selfish reactions
Love happens when we push past our selfish impulses and react with kindness and understanding towards others.

love never fails, so when things go wrong.
Love will always endure and prevail through any situation.

just remember this song, it goes...
In difficult times, remember the message of this song.

Love and happiness, it make you do right
Love and happiness have the power to make us do the right thing.

Contributed by Aiden S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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