Vex Ruffin Shares 'Mabuhay Boy' Video From LiteAce Frequency.

Vex Ruffin shares a new video for the Pinoy soul jam "Mabuhay Boy", a track off his new album LiteAce Frequency, out now on Stones Throw. Throughout "Mabuhay Boy," Vex drives around sunny Los Angeles, working hard as a delivery person to bring goods to a series of eclectic characters. Directed by Eric Coleman, the video includes cameos from Folerio (aka Stones Throw's Peanut Butter Wolf), Shags Chamberlain (who mixed the album) and rapper The Koreatown Oddity.

In making "Mabuhay Boy", Vex says "I was imagining a character who was in the scene in the 70's in Manila which was my dad's era. That combined with how I was feeling when I was working two jobs and balancing everything. This song is dedicated to all the hardworking Filipinos leaving overseas to work to provide for their families. "

"Mabuhay Boy" is sung in Tagalog and has English subtitles.

When Vex Ruffin's family moved from Northridge, California to the City of Parañaque in the Philippines, their first car was a Toyota LiteAce. Swooping around the thick Metro Manila traffic between colourful jeepneys and tricycles in the compact van left a strong impression on young Vex. The Toyota LiteAce was immensely popular in early 90s Manila - beloved for its durability and reliability - and enjoys an intense, affectionate following to this day.

Fast forward three decades and Vex's third LP for Stones Throw goes back to his roots. Cooked up at his kitchen table, LiteAce Frequency is built on a foundation of 70s Manila Sound and Pinoy soul influences mixing in Japanese funk, Brazilian sounds, and hip-hop. "At my age, you start to reflect," Vex says, "I'm going back to my roots, channeling that time, mixing nostalgia with how I am right now."

LiteAce Frequency sees Vex Ruffin ten years down the line from his first show in his friend's backyard, at peace as a more mature and experienced artist, drawing on a new found positivity and love for life: "If you don't believe in yourself, that's a fear," Vex says. "I think everyone is good at something. Everyone has a dream. Sometimes there's a voice inside you that's guiding you, and you don't follow it because of fear. This album is about going with your heart. Follow your heart. Self-love. Positive things. Believe in yourself. Going for it."

Watch the video here:

Photo Credit: Danny Scott Lane

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