Music Video Roundup: Alicia Keys, John Legend, and Imad Royal
Powerful visual statements and a bit of pop.
Alicia Keys, “Blended Family (What You Do For Love),” feat. A$AP Rocky
Serving as melodic reassurance that all is well within her family, the black-and-white visual features footage of drama-free gatherings between Keys, her husband Swizz Beatz, their two sons Egypt and Genesis, Swizz’s ex-wife Mashonda, their son Kasseem, and Swizz’s eldest son Prince from another relationship. The singer and super-producers’ mom also make cameos, along with featured guest A$AP Rocky, his own mama and sisters. And all their scenes are spliced with that of interracial, interfaith, and same-sex parenthoods, too. Half-cheesy, half-comforting, you can’t help but applaud and root for the crew.
John Legend, “Love Me Now”
A call for hope despite today’s uncertain social and political climate, Legend’s clip follows real people, young and old, in their natural element and daily lives. Watch couples–same-sex in Orlando, Florida; elderly on Standing Rock Reservation, North Dakota; betrothed from a refugee camp in Northern Iraq; and impoverished in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic–choose love regardless of their circumstances, as Legend himself, his wife Chrissy Teigen, and their daughter Luna embrace, too.
Imad Royal, “Bad 4 U”
The D.C. singer takes front and center against simple but stylized backdrops adorned by three-dimensional shapes, fake palm trees, air-suspended chairs, and the silhouette of the eye of his affection.