Nakhane Shines In His Fearless Music Video for 'New Brighton'
The South African songbird tapped Nigerian-British filmmaker Iggy LDN to direct the richly-hued visual.
Nakhane comes correct with not only his music, but with his accompanied music videos—and his latest for "New Brighton" does not disappoint.
Directed by Nigerian-British filmmaker Iggy LDN, the South African singer is a striking vision, shining in the midst of a rocky beach as he journeys through a mansion full of remnants of what used to be.
Watch the video below.
Nakhane - New Brighton feat. ANOHNI (Official Video)youtu.be
Nakhane tells The Fader that "New Brighton" was written back in 2013 on New Year's Eve. Being present in his hometown of New Brighton, a township in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, he decided to view his city from the eye of a tourist for the first time.
"I couldn't ignore the many colonial names and monuments that were triggers and oppressive reminders everywhere one went," he says.
"I knew I was railing against colonialism, but I'd been surrounded by my mother and my aunts that entire December, and all I could think was how much black women had done for me, for my family and how it was them who held the black household together for so many people. Instead of these dead, thieving, white guys who claimed land as their own, our mothers were the ones who should have been celebrated. While all this was going on, when people were being brutalised: where was god and their angels?"
"New Brighton" features Britain's own ANOHNI on the track, where she sings the line, "Never live in fear again." For Nakhane, having her sing such a straightforward lyric held more power than we'll ever know.
"I wanted her to sound like an ancestor in the song," he adds. "Such a simple line, but sung by that voice, it becomes biblical."
The song will be included in Nakhane's rerelease of his 2018 work You Will Not Die, which is set to drop February 22.
