Jean Grae – “Kill Screen” (Video)

Here’s a self-directed video by Jean Grae off of her upcoming Gotham Down project. Pay attention, there’s a lot going on in the video. There’s also a look into the song a little further than most might go with the attached interview by MTV. Give the song a listen (540 words. 683 syllables. 52.54 syllables per sentence.), download, and read the full-length interview here.

What’s the meaning behind the title “Kill Screen (aka Steve Wiebe)”?
I watched The King of Kong and thoroughly both respected and understood [Donkey Kong master] Steve Wiebe’s drive and passion. I like rooting for the underdog. I understand being the underdog.

You produced the song yourself. What sort of vibe were you going for?
Something eerie [and] sparse that allowed for a lot of room for wordplay; a lot of room to breathe on the track. I look at beats like a canvas: Sometimes you want a lush, full landscaped background, other times it deserves to be something more minimalistic. I wanted to paint on a minimal canvas.

What can fans expect from the rest of the Gotham Down project?
Free cocaine! Okay, no free cocaine. Sorry. That would probably be a really bad idea for me. Also, the people doing cocaine. The next few projects are very interesting and tie into each other much the way that, say, a Tarantino film might be structured, jumping around a storyline. All the characters are involved with each other and their destinies even if it was unknown.

You’re also working on Cake or Death. Which album will be released first?
Cake Or Death, time and story wise, would precede Gotham Down. So I’m putting Gotham Down out first to confuse the fuck out of everyone. Kidding. I’m putting it out first to make the point of time and space, how it pertains to our live and our fates — if it exists; in what form it exists … Gotham Down has the stories of a superhero gone rogue, turned villainous. What happened to make that occur? It’s darker in a different way than Cake or Death. I think all of our pasts, presents and future spaces are all intertwined, all folded into each other. If you change your future, it changes your past. If you recognized that you had the ability to knowingly jump around in space-time, you would definitely shift things, either for the best or not. Basically, it’s a kick-ass story about the good and evil within us, our abilities to do superhuman things, and the understanding of our place in the multiverse. And boys.