Synopsis

The video turns the song's portrait of a life buckling under debt, failed relationships, and drinking into a loose, darkly comic character piece. Grieves appears among a cast of offbeat figures, including Kyle Mooney and Budo, as everyday scenes take on an increasingly strange, alcohol-soaked mood. Rather than following a conventional performance narrative, it uses awkward behavior, deadpan comedy, and quick vignettes to visualize the song's self-deprecating spiral and the feeling of being dragged downward by one problem after another.

Factoids & Trivia

• "On The Rocks" was released in June 2011 as part of *Together/Apart*, Grieves' Rhymesayers debut. The official video appeared shortly before the album's June 21 release.

• The cast includes comedian Kyle Mooney, who later became widely known for his work on *Saturday Night Live*, as well as Grieves' longtime collaborator Budo.

• The video's ensemble also includes Wyatt Denny, Tracy Viera, Ashley Haber, Brenda Marie King, and Lucy Mae Sunday.

• The production was associated with Doomsday Entertainment and D58 Productions, giving the clip a short-film-like identity rather than the feel of a conventional rap performance video.

• Grieves recorded the song's vocals in his basement after returning from tour. He later took the recording to Undercaste Studios before it was mixed in New York and mastered in Minneapolis.

• The track's self-deprecating writing reflects the broader mood of *Together/Apart*, an album Grieves described as dealing with the tension between life on tour and life at home.

• "On The Rocks" was one of several videos supporting *Together/Apart*, alongside "Lightspeed" and "Bloody Poetry."