Ebeneza Blanche dives into Nigerian society with Little Simz and Obongjayar, in the marvellous video for Point & Kill.

It was Little Simz’ burning wish to shoot the film in Lagos - which brought her back to the Nigerian capital for the first time since her childhood - and provided Blanche with the opportunity to shoot in Nigeria for the first time. They have fully made the most of the experience with a piece that celebrates African culture, incorporating visual brilliance with comedy, ideas, performance and serious political commentary.

The track celebrates a well known phrase in Nigeria, a connection between Simz and Obongjayar and the extension of that to family and friends in Nigeria. Starting with a domestic setting, and introducing Simz as part of the scene, Blanche brings us properly into this world, which develops its own form of magic realism as she rides away on a back of the moped and comes across fascinating groups of individuals, as if plucked from a Lagos photographic studio.

This is a fantastic collaboration - Simz and Obongjayar provide the focus and the charisma, while Blanche's eye is exceptional, his use of the stars and the cast is idiosyncratic, and every frame is beautiful. And it moves from the lighthearted into much more political territory, but still in a very artful way - an emerging tableau of a stand-off between Simz and Obongjayar and the police, a reference to the ongoing police-orchestrated violence in Nigeria. Really outstanding work.

EBENEZA BLANCHE:

We both really wanted to explore Nigerian culture for this visual.

"Working with Little Simz was very organic. From how we connected to shooting on set, it was all good vibes. We both really wanted to explore Nigerian culture for this visual. It was also amazing to have her mother in the video throwing money like a boss lady. Obongjayar also had great ideas which added an edge to the visual. 

"With the recent brutality on innocent civilians in Nigeria, I wanted to address this by positioning Little Simz as a strong, powerful and modest lady whereas Obongjayar would be seen in his own element for his performance and then coupled up with Little Simz. 

"It is always a privilege to be able to work in different countries and cultures with skilled talents from the whole diaspora. The experience was tough but rewarding. Sometimes I am a bit skeptical about shooting in countries that I have never visited, but this turned out great. Dawa did an amazing job on bringing the best crew together and Luca from SMUGGLER of course made sure we had a smooth shoot. I am very happy with the visual and hope you are too."