Wale’s Brilliant “Sue Me” Video Is A Chilling Reminder Of America’s Social Ills
will go down as an underappreciated legend whenever he decides to walk away from music, which hopefully is far from happening anytime soon. Exemplifying the depths of his creative spirit and ingenuity as an artist, the Washington, D.C. star unveiled a short film to accompany the brilliant “Sue Me” track, painting a chilling image of America’s social ills.
Directed by Kerby Jean-Raymond and starring actor Lucas Hedges, “Sue Me” from Wale’s excellent album reimagines America with white people bearing the brunt of racism, poverty, joblessness, and other issues that historically has plagued Black Americans. Perhaps given the nature of things in the country due to the COVID-19 situation, the video throws an exceptionally sharp punch to the gut but, as is customary with deep thinkers like Wale, the message is meant to provoke and educate at the same time.
The pro-Black, feel-good messaging juxtaposed against the bleak New York backdrop that the video’s protagonist trudges through is emotionally stirring. Kelly Price’s gospel-tinged vocals also propel the somber tone of the video, which hits an amazing creative turn as Hedges’ character and two other white men are thrown out of a “Morebucks” coffeeshop while Wale films the event on his smartphone.
The video ends with a prisoner sharing his harrowing tale of dealing with the spread of COVID-19 in the jail where he’s housed, noting that he might not even survive the remainder of his sentence.
The eight-minute video has all the makings of a full-length film or series should someone find themselves brave enough to tackle the still sticky topic of race and racism in America. And on Twitter, the reaction to “Sue Me” has the video trending at the top of the social media network. Check out those reactions below.
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Photo: Getty
