A bit of rap from the other side of the pond for your Monday from British emcee Adian Coker.
It’s very easy to default to hip-hop’s tried and true iconography when you’re an independent artist working on a budget, finding yourself rapping absentmindedly in front of a wall in some alley or surrounded by silent crew members. Done right, these sorts of videos can take on refreshing new life (Trouble’s fantastically menacing “Bussin” comes immediately to mind); done wrong, they become relics catching digital dust in the YouTube locker or, at worst, further fodder for anti-hip-hop arguments.
While “Cream” is largely a performance video, it incorporates a dizzying array of visual references, ideas, and colors. It feels inspired in large part by hip-hop’s recent obsession with luxe signifiers and baroque darkness. Coker acquits himself nicely on the mic, making good use of a suitably cinematic, melancholy beat. Check it out below.
