Kelvyn Colt has released the new song “Benz | I Know” along with an Instagram post sharing shots of the forthcoming video, which was created in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz's electric sub-brand, EQ. The team-up points to the forward-thinking approach the car brand is taking to contribute to the cultural zeitgeist and speak to a younger audience.
Colt first worked with Mercedes in 2019, when he headlined an event for the brand's EQ community in Linz, Austria. Now in its third year, the EQ community is a network of visionaries and opinion leaders from different industries that Mercedes brings together to discuss technology, innovation, and the future of mobility. Sharing a mutual interest in these topics, Colt and Mercedes kept in touch and, after some changes in plans due to Covid-19 restrictions, have now linked for the release of the track's video. A first glimpse at images from the video, which releases in full on September 24, shows Colt driving two of Mercedes's pinnacle electric cars, the EQC and the much-hyped Vision EQS show car.
Speaking to Colt about the song and the partnership, he explains, “It’s a funny story. My team and Mercedes were talking about what we could do together. I was in the studio whilst they were already having conversations about doing different things, and I wrote a song called Benz. I don't think of anything when I'm in the studio, I didn't make it for Mercedes, but the hook mentioned Benz.”
Bettina Fetzer, vice president marketing Mercedes-Benz AG, adds: "In order to start an interdisciplinary dialogue on the future of mobility and at the same time raise awareness around Mercedes-Benz EQ, we began to build a community consisting of inspiring personalities. By letting them take the stage and share their knowledge, we are able to reach a new audience. Mercedes-Benz has always been passionate about culture and inspiring creativity from experts, pioneers, visionaries and great minds. Our influence is not limited to automotive: we have multiple touch-points to many cultural industries from film and fashion, to sports, and of course music. We first met Kelvyn Colt in September 2019, and we are very proud that this young visionary has been a part of our community and journey ever since.”
Coming a month after Colt released the track "Hope | I Wonder", the new song shines a light on Colt’s personal journey and his experiences coming up in the German music scene. “Some people just don't want you to win. I became aware that there were certain people that I thought were my friends who got really, really upset when Mercedes gave me a car, so I was like, man, I'm going to make a song about this. But the song is not about teasing the other person, it's about focusing on my path, my world, my wellbeing, my success, my happiness, and everybody who's around me and not waste time focusing on people who wish negativity upon me.”
Listen to the new track above and head to Mercedes-Benz's website to learn more about the EQ initiative.
