Video: JaH Monte – Thornton Avenue Lords (@JaHMonteOgbon)

It begins with a brief history lesson on hip-hop before kicking into a groove and jumping right into the story of one, JaH Monte. The Charlotte rapper’s new Barry Espy-directed video for the song “Thornton Avenue Lords” is actually “two songs in one,” JaH Monte says.

“This song was the intro to my project ‘Real Life (South West Side Akron Story)’,” he tells us. “Almost the first half of the song goes into a story about steps I took to get back on my feet after leaving jail.” Those steps led to JaH Monte’s current domestic life in Charlotte, and in the video you see his daughters jumping up and down on a bed and having fun. Later in the video, JaH Monte is at a basketball court, “reminiscing on old memories and trying to relive those times.”

It’s two steps forward and some horrific remembrances of things past. And it’s a terrific video.