Posted on: October 14, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Little Rock, Arkansas isn’t often thought of as a hotbed for hip-hop talent; the city has plenty of history, sure, but hip-hop’s never much played a role. SL Jones is looking to change that, and is well on the way with the release of a handful of quality projects in the past months. First came The Number 23, a Don Cannon-hosted mixtape that boasted features from the likes of Waka Flocka, Killer Mike, Trae Tha Truth, Pill, and Yo Gotti, not to mention production from Lex Luger, Shawty Redd, and Cannon. Next up was The Number 23: Editor’s Cut, a slimmed-down non-DJ re-release of the tape, a project that also included two previously unreleased tracks. Then came Pandamonium, a remixing of Clams Casino’s Rainforest EP, and before hopping into a new, soon-to-be-titled mixtape scheduled for release before year’s end, SL is excited to bring fans the visual for “Paper Cuts,” a fan-favorite from The Number 23 series.

Directed by Motion Family, whose own recent work includes videos for the likes of Big K.R.I.T., Yelawolf, and others, the video offers stark depictions of street life, visuals that SL purposely kept natural to his surroundings. “I wanted to keep things pretty straight forward; the video was inspired by life,” explains SL. “We shot it in the real trap; I’m with my real homies. Beautiful women in the kitchen – real Pyrex.” But despite all the “shoe box money,” as Jones calls it, SL isn’t using the video to purport any images of grandeur; the song actually places SL in the role of packing and transporting someone else’s dirty fortunes. “At the end of the day, counting money is still a job and somebody’s gotta do it,” notes SL. “Even if all that money doesn’t belong to you, it’s business. The bank teller doesn’t own all the money in the bank.”

Watch the video for “Paper Cuts” here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEgGXfAvZCQ

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