
Isaiah Rashad's regular life steadily unravels in Omar Jones's unsettling and very resonant video for the LA-based rapper, returning with his first music in nearly five years. Everything appears normal at first. But against the tense, insistent rap of Same Sh!t, Jones's well-composed photographic compositions detailing the life of Zay (aka Rashad) take an increasingly eery turn. Blending naturalistic storytelling with subtle surrealism, Jones's video is a metaphor for Rashad's personal struggles and setbacks, including his problems with drug and alcohol abuse, leading to depression, over the past decade. But the signs of his life going wrong are also completely relatable, arguably also relevant for a wider societal sense of unease.There is repetition, disorientation, and visual glitches to mirror Zay’s internal state. He begins to suspect his routine reality is not real, forcing him to confront himself and ultimately leave everything behind to start a new life on the road.Jones's film is the beginning of a larger visual rollout for Rashad's new album (It's Been Awful, out on May 1st) and in keeping with everything that he does, the ideas are matched by the level of craft, with great cinematography from Cory Burmester and production design by Matt Thoth. And it also feels like one for the times we are living in.
Promonews - 4 hours ago
