Video: Topaz Jones - "Coping Mechanism"

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As further evidence in the “you don’t need a big budget to make a compelling video” file (as if further evidence was needed), check out rapper Topaz Jones’ artful clip for rousing single “Coping Mechanism.”

On the surface, “Coping Mechanism” is an ode to rap as outlet from overwhelming circumstances, a time-honored topic delivered with the sort of bravado you’d need to believe art can elevate you beyond current obstacles. The accompanying video adds a brooding quality that speaks ominously to the difficulty of the struggle Jones raps about, lending visual metaphor to both the internal and external elements of the desire to rise through rap and the preventative barriers that rise up all around, an attempt to conquer surroundings through creative work. Consider it Biggie’s famous “Either you’re slingin’ crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot” line darkly rendered, still as resonant as ever.

Watch “Coping Mechanism” below.

(Complex)

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