Looking back at my most frequently revisited albums of the past year or so, I can confidently say that for a plethora of reasons, I always find myself coming back to Blood Orange’s 2018 masterpiece, Negro Swan. From the mesmeric, sonically refreshing sounds on this one to the artful and well-executed commentary executed all throughout this project, I truly can’t think of very many albums released in the past few years that I hold in such high regard. Needless to say, whenever anything new from Blood Orange comes out, I’m all over it — especially when it comes to visuals.
For anyone familiar with Blood Orange’s work, it’s quite obvious that the mastermind behind the operation, Dev Hynes, always seems to have an incredible grasp on his art when it comes to translating music onto the big screen. With this in mind, Blood Orange is back today with yet another new music video, this time for “Hope” featuring Puff Daddy and Tei Shi.
Aside from the impeccable, otherworldly aesthetics of this one (the scene of all the people in tank tops running down the hill is my favorite), “Hope” is a cameo-filled demonstration of the power of music, specifically through the scope of the emotion, skill, and decision, “hope.” Incorporating the likes of the song’s two featured artists — Puff Daddy and Tei Shi — as well as Tyler, The Creator, A$AP Rocky, and a few others, this music video possesses the kind of beauty that seemingly refreshes the soul. Each scene is executed with pinpoint precision, and the result is yet another work of magic from Blood Orange.
I can’t recommend this one enough, so be sure to check out “Hope” below and if you like it, make sure you stream Negro Swan and get hip to some more from Blood Orange!