Mykki Blanco recently dropped their latest music video for “It’s Not My Choice,” featuring Blood Orange. Directed by Devonte Hynes and shot on 16mm film, “the video shows Mykki, Dev and friends portraying a carefree, tightly-bonded life in pure, weightless freedom.” On the video, Mykki Blanco has stated that the process “was carefree and captured what [he feels] to be quintessential summer moments – being with friends, being in nature, and having a sense of poise no matter your own personal thunderstorm.”
This last part is critical, considering the song is about a dysfunctional relationship. The video is meant to show Blanco weathering that internal storm while surrounded by vibrant colors in nature as well as a large group of friends. Sonically, executive producer FaltyDL uses synthesizers and saxophones “reminiscent of the early eighties musical stylings of Steely Dan, Michael McDonald and Anita Baker” to create a landscape that is equal parts melancholic and joyous. Dev Hynes, in addition to vocals, contributes to the track by performing on cello, keyboards, and drum machines.
In Mykki’s lyrics, there is a sense of urgency. Not only do they think they’re going to lose their partner to the dysfunction, but they desperately want to fix things. For a brief moment, they consider ending things, but they come to the conclusion that they “want [them] out of [their] head and back in [their] bed.” If the song sounded any different, it wouldn’t work. If the music video looked different, it would be intriguing, but it probably wouldn’t work as well as it does here. Dev Hynes’ direction created a world that allows Mykki to exist in both pain and joy, something that is hard to accomplish in the real world.
All in all, “It’s Not My Choice” is a great song amplified by a phenomenal music video. Mykki Blanco and Dev Hynes knocked it out of the park with FaltyDL, and it’ll be exciting to see what the rest of Mykki’s mini-album (Broken Hearts & Beauty Sleep) is like. Check out the video above and the mini-album below!
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