It's a little bit after the fact, but we finally have a video for Avant and KeKe Wyatt's soul ballad, "You & I." Now before you have a look at the Kai Crawford-directed video and call out Avant for sitting JCPenney-portrait style on an adjustable height stool, let's remember that he is now on an independent label, the Capitol/EMI-distributed Mo-B, and you KNOW that independent label budget struggle is tough. With that being said, I couldn't help but feel that the video took away from the song. It wasn't even just about how Avant was posed on the stool. The overall treatment cheapened the song. Clothed in a form-fitting Maria Harper creation, Keke, her "girls" and her Billie Holiday-inspired flower add a bright pop of red color to the monochrome colors worn by the rest of the band. The concept behind the video was to re-create a classic look, reminiscent of those old soul performances that stuck to your bones, but updated with just a touch of color. The idea behind Avant's upcoming album, Face the Music, is to bring back "true" R&B, and the video is supposed to be a representation of that. Oddly, the video seems to end before the song does, but by the time you get that point, you've seen enough. Luckily, this track stands alone, so not even a misstep like this is enough to turn me off of the entire project.
- Advertisement -
