Premiere: Ahmed, with love. finds new freedom in ‘Full Plate’
District and Jameson Black Barrel share the same affinity for cutting edge music culture and with that in mind, we thought who better to team up with to explore the intersection of jazz and hip hop. As part of the Jameson Black Barrel Smooth Series we’re examining the developments that are propelling new acts to the forefront and talking to the innovators leading the jazzy revolution. You can purchase Jameson Black Barrel here. Please drink Jameson Black Barrel responsibly. Visit drinkaware.ie
Premiere: Ahmed, with love. finds new freedom in ‘Full Plate’
Words: Dylan Murphy
Starring: Ahmed, With Love., KhakiKid, Lauryn Creamer Nwadike and Craig Chiko
Director: Pippa Molony
DOP: Carlos Moguel
Producer: Lauren Cullen
Editor: Jack Doyle
1st Assistant Camera: Grainne Galvin
Gaff: Rory Fitzpatrick
Colour Grade: Fiachra Gallagher Lawson
Production: Tape Eater
Mixing: Noisy House
Mastering: Kylté
We’ve got the exclusive first peek at the new video from Ahmed, with love. featuring fellow Dublin rapper Khakikid.
Just a few weeks ago we premiered the Napoleon Dynamite-indebted video for ‘As Luck Would Have It’ from rising Dublin rapper Ahmed, With love. It was a quirky offering that highlighted his innate ability to execute a tongue-in-cheek approach without compromising his status as an artist that is very serious about his craft.
Now, he’s returned with visuals for his new single ‘Full Plate’ that sees him link up with director Pippa Molony for a second time. Swapping the theatrics of his previous music video for a more stern tone that pulls inspiration from Radiohead videos, the visuals for ‘Full Plate’ sees Ahmed wrestle with the uncertainty that comes after a relationship ends.
We caught up with the rapper ahead of the premiere and he chatted about the inspiration behind the video and how he ended up teaming up with Khakikid.
Can you talk about how the song came together a little bit?
I don’t even know. I think it was on a Zoom call with a few of my friends just freestyling and I got this beat up that Tape Eater sent me over. Think I had a couple of verses and bars from some unfinished tracks that just seemed to slot in together perfectly. I remember like a couple nights before I put some vocals down I was just humming a hook I made thinking to myself “damn, I wish I had a beat for this”. Full Plate. really is just three unfinished song ideas that I just slapped together that I thought really carry that awkward situation post-breakup of no longer having to be that pillar of support for someone. Like it’s no longer your responsibility to be there once that dynamic shifts.
How did you end up linking with Khakikid on this one?
I’ve been a fan of KhakiKid’s work for a good while now and I lowkey wanted to ask him for a verse for a while but I’m shy as hell sometimes. The day I was finally like “aight, stop being a baby and just DM him”, literally 3 minutes after I said that he hit me up like “yo, we should work together.” Like the stars aligned or some shit. So I sent him on the track, he vibed with it, sent his verse which was sick and here we are.
Visually, what did you take queues from for the video?
When I was chatting to Pippa about coming up with ideas for the shots, she had put me on to some Radiohead music videos that I really vibed with. Particularly the ‘Man of War‘ music video which the main concept was switching from day to night in the same scene with a different context. The switches kinda help jump from the nostalgia of the “good ol’ days” back to the reality of just not having that person you used to have. We also took influence from the ‘Daydreaming‘ video of just idly walking through different scenes and different moments in time. One of my favourite scenes had to be the “Moonlight” scene at the end where I’m just looking out then walking into the sea. “Moonlight” is one of my favourite films and I don’t even think Pippa knew that so shoutout to her for that.
Watch the video for ‘Full Plate’ below:
Previous Premiere: Ahmed, with love. checks his advances in ‘As Luck Would Have It’.
District and Jameson Black Barrel share the same affinity for cutting edge music culture and with that in mind, we thought who better to team up with to explore the intersection of jazz and hip hop. As part of the Jameson Black Barrel Smooth Series we’re examining the developments that are propelling new acts to the forefront and talking to the innovators leading the jazzy revolution. You can purchase Jameson Black Barrel here. Please drink Jameson Black Barrel responsibly. Visit drinkaware.ie
