British songstress Jorja Smith has released a meaningful visual for her beloved single, “Blue Lights” While the 20-year-old is preparing for her debut album Lost & Found to drop June 8th, she took some time to go back home to Birmingham and get political with her new video.
Directed by Olivia Rose, the visual takes a firm stance on the issue of stereotyping and profiling. While Jorja soulfully sings lyrics like “What have you done? (Into strobe lights), There’s no need to run (Not blue flashing lights) If you’ve done nothing wrong, blue lights should just pass you by,” there are striking images of people from various backgrounds and of different colors highlighted in black and white. Some of those people include poet Benjamin Zephaniah, musicians Jaykae, Despo, and producer Preditah who made Smith’s hit single “On My Mind”.
Jorja says for the video she wanted to highlight everyday people from Birmingham and Walsall to show the effects of stereotyping. “I wanted to capture men/boys of Walsall and Birmingham from all different walks of life doing everyday activities to show that the stereotypes we are bombarded with are misleading and, ultimately, harmful,” Smith tells VIBE. “I chose Walsall as the setting for the video as that is where I am from and where I drew my inspiration from when writing the song.”
Rose says the video is not only meaningful because of its message but also special for showcasing the singer’s origins. “What’s really beautiful is that a lot of the cast and places are authentically related back to Jorja – her dad, the boys who inspired the song, the park where she hung out as a teenager, the owner of the restaurant where she had her first gig,” she said.
Although the young starlet has only broken into the scene two years ago with her mixtape Project 11, she has remained booked and busy collaborating with Drake on More Life, touring with Bruno Mars on his U.S. tour, and co-writing “I Am” with Kendrick Lamar on the #1 Black Panther soundtrack.
Watch the video up top.