Review: 'Om'Mas Keith: Across The Board'

The best documentaries are the ones that introduce you to a world that you need to know about - even if you didn't realize its importance until you clicked "play." That's certainly the case with the wonderful film "Om'Mas Keith: Across The Board," which premieres on Red Bull TV on Friday, June 17th.

I was familiar with Keith before the film, primarily because of his production work with Frank Ocean, John Legend and Erykah Badu. He was also a founding member of influential alternative hip-hop/jazz/soul trio Sa-Ra. I knew he was talented and I suspected he probably had a pretty compelling backstory. But it was until I watched "Across The Board" that I realized the depth of his personal tale.

I won't give too much away, other than to say the film is a nice mix of current interviews interwoven with extensive archival footage of Keith's childhood and time during and after Sa-Ra. The film only lasts 24-minutes, but it packs a lot of nuanced details and life story into less than a half hour.

In the end, it's a story about the transformative power of music and it ends with his ailing mom laying in her bed, surrounded by a jazz band as she haltingly sings from somewhere deep inside her soul. It's a haunting way to end the film, but it also provides a fitting bookend for a story that I'm glad I was able to see.

Click here to watch Om'Mas Keith: Across The Board on Red Bull TV.