James Blake ft Chance the Rapper – “Life Round Here” (Remix) (Official Video Directed by Nabil)
This isn’t the first rap video of late to greatly increase the potency of the song it portrays by being filmed entirely in black-and-white.
Perhaps best known for directing Kanye West/GOOD Music’s “Mercy” video, photographer and auteur Nabil partners with James Blake once again and provides his typically stark and sombre, halfway-between-a-dream-and-a-nightmare visuals for Blake’s remix of “Life Round Here” with Chicago MC Chance the Rapper.
The juxtaposition of Blake’s manor house falsetto and Chance’s street flow is exemplified through Nabil’s own synesthete genius by having a lowrider cruise through the wooded twists and turns of rural Hertfordshire, England as stallions, priests and Somali pirates stare. And just like Blake’s own bleak production throughout this remix, rain covers all.
James Blake ft Chance the Rapper – “Life Round Here” (Official Video)
The original version of “Life Round Here” is featured on James Blake’s sophomore LP Overgrown, released on Atlas/A&M Records.
Here’s hoping that Blake gets into making more of this fresh and forward-thinking hip-hop, just like his work under his Harmonimix alias.