Premiere: Flare Tha Rebel’s ‘Rosé All Day’ is your summertime jam

Flare Tha Rebel. // photo credit Fotos by Selina

“Rosé All Day” is the lead single from Flare Tha Rebel’s upcoming EP titled Summer You, Summer Me. It’s at once about summer fun and hangs while also addressing the uneven power dynamic inherent in pursuing someone for a relationship. Continuing with Flare’s Art to Empower initiative, “Rosé All Day” aims to raise funds and awareness for a nonprofit. This time, it’s the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Abuse (MOCSA).

We’re excited to officially premiere the video for “Rosé All Day,” along with a short Q&A with Flare (also known as Jeff Shafer) about the video, created by Stellar Image Studios.

The Pitch: As the credits state, this video features a collection of the “dopest people and places” in Kansas City. What led you to choose who and what got featured?

Flare Tha Rebel: It started with two of my favorite spots in Kansas City, Ça Va and Brewery Emperial. After that I tried to strike a balance between personal favorites, well known spots, and even tourist attractions.

I wanted the video to have the vibe of a visual postcard for Kansas City, including murals from some of our best in KC—Sike Style, JT Daniels, Scribe—was a must too. I have yet to meet one person from out of town that hasn’t fallen in love with KC after visiting, so it felt natural to do a video bragging about how dope my hometown is.

I was a little limited in that I wanted places that could go along with the narrative and personality of the song, and not every place I reached out to said yes, but I was surprised by the amount of support there was for the project. We ended up with more ideas then we could include.

A lot of your recent work has been explicitly political, and while this song is pretty much a party jam, the depiction of black joy feels like a political act right now. Is that what you were going for?

This song predates all but one of the politically charged tracks on my last EP, The Revolution Will Not Be Hashtagged. But, after George Floyd and when the pandemic hit, I didn’t feel like putting music out about popping bottles. But, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we have to find joy, even amidst the struggle. If we can’t, we’ll burn out too quickly while fighting for change. We have to lean into the people and places that bring us joy. Got to keep our glass filled.

How much rosé did you all drink while shooting on the patio at Ça Va?

I had a little midday buzz. I’ll just leave it at that!

Is there a local rosé beverage you recommend for pairing with the new single?

I’ll go with Kaycee Mac’s sparkling rosé. It’s a refreshing canned wine, so an easy pull-up to any party. Plus, they donate a portion of sales to a Kansas City nonprofit, and I’m all about that.

[Make sure to check out our recent magazine feature story on Flare’s group project Woodland Ave.]