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Fresh off the release of his new In Another Life LP, Bilal has shared the official video for "Money Over Love," a brief and aggressive track that features the rapping talents of one Kendrick Lamar. Set in a nameless roadside town, the video intersperses shots of a gospel church in the passionate throes of a sermon with scenes of a couple struggling to make ends meet. As her boyfriend watches will mounting shame and inner anguish, the clip's female protagonist begs for spare change from strangers. When it's still not enough, she appears to choose money over love in a most literal sense and heads to a truck stop with obvious intentions, a look of defeat carved across her face. With a simple but effective plot line and an ending that's almost too saddening for words, Bilal has offered us yet another captivating, eloquent piece of work. Those impressed by his handling of police brutality in "Satellites" will cherish the R&B star's commitment to social commentary, even if it hurts to watch.
Released less than 24 hours after Kendrick Lamar's masterful "Alright" clip, "Money Over Love" is less fantastic in its content but equally as cutting. This is real life unalloyed, thrust upon us in hopes of change, solidarity, catharsis, healing. Yesterday we watched Kendrick throw wads of cash out of a window into the path of a police cruiser, mocking how useless currency can become. Today, Bilal gives us the other side of the coin: for some of us, money can cost everything.
Premiered at FADER
