Dennis Elliott
In late June, NNAMDÏ shared “I Don’t Wanna Be Famous,” announced his sixth studio album Please Have a Seat, and revealed the dates of his fall North American tour. He’s back today with “Anti,” a second single from the LP that arrives alongside an inventive visual treatment brought to life by Austin Vesely.
Like Please Have a Seat’s first offering, the new track pairs NNAMDÏ’s ever-impressive wordplay with a squishy, soulful beat, zeroing in on the tragicomic territory he knows so well. In Vesely’s accompanying short, NNAMDÏ performs in a furry blue monster suit for a crowd of restless kids before crashing a fancy dinner party and taking out his pent-up aggression on a creepy magician.
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“I really like teetering on the edge of playful and unsettling and I think we did that with this video,” NNAMDÏ explains. “The song/video is a journey through how generational and childhood trauma can manifest itself in different ways as an adult, especially if never confronted. Basically the things that help create your origin story. I’ve had this video idea since the song’s conception, and Austin really brought my treatment to life.”
“What excited me about adapting a treatment written by Nnamdi was that it had so many of the elements that make his music great — playfulness and surprise, some darkness and contrasts, depth in a short time frame — and also that it was clearly coming from a very personal place for him,” Vesely adds. “Taking a trip through his mind is a thrill, and I’m pleased we were able to draw out this broader aspect of Nnamdi’s relationship to the song and share that.”
Watch the “Anti” video below.
