A music video for “Link”, the latest single from Philadelphia rapper Tierra Whack, dropped on Tuesday, April 6th. Watch the video here.
This video was created in tandem with the LEGO Group and the aesthetic decisions involved clearly reflect that partnership. Whack is joined by various abstract beings, all adhering to strict color patterns, and proceeds to build a rocketship to space out of LEGO material. Whack herself adorns an iridescent costume reminiscent of some of her outfits from the sensational Whack World.
The narrative element of the piece starts to break down when Whack questions her decision to “go to space forever”, perhaps implying that other people are a necessary prerequisite to connecting, or linking together. Soon, Whack is caught amid a psychedelic swirl of memories until her rocket crashes back to Earth (if Earth is in fact where the artist began her journey). Viewers are left with a scene of the very creatures that helped Whack build her spaceship dancing alongside her body which displays a creepy facial gesture familiar to those who have seen enough of Whack’s other video material.
The work was directed by Cat Solen who previously worked with Tierra Whack on the music video for “Unemployed”. While developing the video concept for “Link”, Tierra Whack actually sat down and conferred with schoolchildren as part of LEGO’s “Rebuild the World” initiative.
While the video is interesting, the song “Link” leaves a lot to be desired. Her two singles from 2020 each stand above this track as more musically innovative and packed with denser bars. At this time, there isn’t certainty as to whether the release of “Link” foreshadows a larger project on the horizon for Tierra Whack. We can only hope.
