Skepta
Grime And Reggaeton Collide In Skepta And J Balvin’s Elegant ‘Nirvana’ Video
Skepta and J Balvin fall into a black widow’s trap in their sultry, surprising video for “Nirvana.” Taken from Skepta’s upcoming EP, All In, the song features a Spanish-inflected guitar loop over which the two rappers deliver flirtatious verses to the objects of their desires. The chorus promises to take a lover “to your Nirvana” as they insist that “every day’s a celebration when you come from the Gaza.”
In the elegant-looking, KLVDR-directed video for the track, Skepta approaches a sophisticated woman during a dinner party at her mansion. While at first, there are hints of heist thrillers like Netflix’s Lupin, it turns out that Skepta is really the one getting played as his seemingly successful seduction of the lady of the house ends with him awakening imprisoned alongside J Balvin, who’s tied to a chair and looks quite distraught, implying this isn’t for fun. The video concludes with the mistress walking the halls of the opulent mansion leaving what looks suspiciously like bloodstained footprints behind her as she goes to find her next victim.
The eerie video is surprisingly the first single from the new EP, which Skepta only announced earlier this week. Titled for the British star’s newfound love of poker, it also features Kid Cudi and Nigerian rapper Teezee and drops tonight at midnight.
Watch the video for “Nirvana” above.
Skepta Announced A New EP, ‘All In,’ Featuring Kid Cudi And J Balvin
Acclaimed British rapper and Grime legend Skepta just announced a new EP, and it includes some pretty big names on the tracklist. All In is the rapper’s first release since his 2019 full-length project Ignorance Is Bliss, and he shared the news on Instagram along with the album artwork. He also tagged the other artists that will be featured on the EP, which includes some big names like Kid Cudi — who just pulled off a comeback of his own with Man On The Moon III: The Chosen last year — and reggaeton star/noted McDonalds collaborator J Balvin.
Aside from the big names that American audiences are likely to recognize, Skepta also tapped Nigerian rapper Teezee, who is also the founder of the Lagos-based African culture magazine, Native Mag. Teezee appears on the track “Peace Of Mind” along with Kid Cudi, while Balvin holds down his own feature on a song called “Nirvana.” Check out the full tracklist below, the project drops this Friday on July 30th. Nothing else big happening that day like Billie Eilish dropping her hotly-anticipated new album Happier Than Ever or anything. Then again, their fanbases probably don’t overlap too much.
All In EP tracklist:
1. “Bellator”
2. “Peace Of Mind” (Featuring Kid Cudi and Teezee)
3. “Nirvana” (Featuring J Balvin)
4. “Lit Like This”
5. “Eyes On Me”