Cat Velez - 14th Mar 2016

American producer and singer-songwriter Mali Music has shared this sweet new video for Contradiction, one of his contributions to the soundtrack to Spike Lee's recent feature ChiRaq.

Directed by Davis Silis, it's a wonderfully warm clip shining a spotlight on the Georgia singer and his collaborator, the singer Jhene Aiko. The pair sway gently with a glowing dance club's pretty, jovial crowd while singing about the ups and downs of love. And while the general vibe is happy and life-affirming, it also offers a reminder of those lost in violence not just in Chicago, but all over the world.

DAVIS SILIS:

"The insurmountable loss Chicago has experienced over the years, for many people, only came into perspective when compared to America’s losses in Iraq, a war more publicised, and certainly longer-running than any other.

"I grew up not far from Chicago, so when this project came around, working with the supremely talented Mali Music, Jhené Aiko, and the team behind Spike Lee’s film Chi-Raq, the soundtrack on which Contradiction features, it felt quite personal. Especially when only a few weeks after we finished filming, my own hometown suffered a mass shooting.

"What we wanted to create was a video that reinforced the story of Chi-Raq, but also had its own message. Both a celebration of community, and a lament of its destruction. Or in other words, a contradiction. That while life does go on, we shall never forget those who were lost."