ChinahBlac Takes Fans Behind the Scenes of ‘Keep Your Word’ Video

Singer ChinahBlac gave a bold reminder last week to "Keep Your Word" and now she's giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the visual. The GRAMMY Amplifier winner also touches on her upbringing and how she draws inspiration from her hometown of Newark, N.J.

"It's a pretty tough place. There's a lot of stories in Newark. There's triumphs like Whitney Houston and [Queen] Latifah. So it's high and low. So I try to write from that place," she says.

ChinahBlac remembers "big soulful sounds" while growing up in Jersey's most populous city. Her father, who was in a doo-wop group, surely passed his singing genes to the classically trained artist. When he heard her singing one day, it was he who motivated her to pursue a music career by enrolling her in piano and vocal lessons.

"From there music just kind of took control of my life," ChinahBlac shares. As a triple threat, the curly-haired singer wrote, produced and arranged "Keep Your Word," a ballad centered on keeping promises. But creating the visual is where she needed help.

"The toughest part is giving up power," she admits. "[The video] was all done in house. That's pretty much been the story of my life. So giving up that power to say I'm going to let these people that know what they're doing. I'm going to give them my baby and we're going to see where it goes."

And help is what she got for the Rick Mordecon-directed visual. Mordecon, who also directed a documentary on DMX, explained that "acting the song rather than performing the song" is the different approach taken in developing visuals for audio.

Her video takes on some truth as ChinahBlac wrote the song in a notebook in reality and is seen doing so in several scenes. "The lyrical format is a true story. It was a written conversation that I had in my head based on a relationship gone bad," she explains.

ChinahBlac is one of the three 2015 GRAMMY Amplifier winners. The annual platform, presented by Hyundai and the Recording Academy, is dedicated to elevate the careers of emerging artists. Each winner can choose between one of three prizes: a studio recording session with a Grammy Award-winning producer, the chance to create their own music video with a recognized director or a live performance with a well-known musician or at a festival.

It's clear that the "Keep Your Word" singer chose the first option. Check out how the "aggressive soul" singer tells her boo that she's done with him before breaking into laughs above.

See Exclusive Photos of ChinahBlac From Her Visit With The Boombox