If there's one thing to remember about D Smoke from winning Netflix's Rhythm + Flow, it's that everything he does has a strong intention. His latest video "Honey Jack" is further proof of that.
The childs-directed video transports Smoke to the 1920s, which would imply to be simpler times without social media and today's sociopoitical woes. But scenes of police brutality remind the viewer that some things unfortunately haven't changed. Smoke's line "They kill all black heroes and then just give us one Avenger" rings loudly despite his calm delivery.
As he jumps from topic to topic within each verse, Smoke's scattered lyrics can be seen as the ramblings of a drunk man but each thought contains some truth ("They thought a n*gga left the hood and chose a different lane/I left the hood to rearrange how we approached the game"). He confirmed the inspiration via email: “'Honey Jack' is a period piece — a journey into the mind and plight of a young, unsung artist. As he loses himself in his day-to-day work, he finds himself coping with realities in a glass of brown liquor."
It's the right balance of his stream of consciousness over the jazzy, lounge production from Mizz Beats and Terrace Martin on the saxophone.
"Honey Jack" comes off of D Smoke's latest EP Inglewood High, which was released in October. Look out for a full-length album in February 2020.
Photo: 70mm