TopBoyLexus Drops Eerie Visuals for ‘Solo Dolo’
Written by: John Balser
It’d been over a year and a half since TOPBOYLEXUS had paired his musical talent with a music video, but he is back and in a big way. Six months after the release of his single ‘Solo Dolo,’ the up-and-coming artist dropped the accompanying visual on no other day than October 31st.
A day that normally means costumes, candy and fun, it doesn’t seem like it is to TOPBOYLEXUS as the music video can be best described as ‘eerie’. The three minute video fluctuates from neon-coloured studio scenes to a cloaked ritual to classic posse shots. The disparity between the moods and tones of the video is jarring, leaving a viewer with many different interpretations of what it all really means.
Floating on beats is a true testament to an artist’s lyrical ability and this is something LEXUS has never had an issue with. The synthy piano and string chords bleed into hard hitting bass and hi hat notes, yet TOPBOYLEXUS’ lyrics and vocals roll over top of them as if they were a ship skipping over cascading waves.
Now there’s a nice picture you’ve probably painted of that ship in your mind, rising and falling with the tide. And perhaps you’ve even paired it with Gunna’s ‘Colors’ performance because that’s the kind of vibe we’re talking about here.
But forget all that because while my boy TOPBOYLEXUS put out this beautiful neo-trap heater, he decided to juxtapose the soft-coloured traditional shots with a ritual of sorts; cloaks, candles, bells and all.
Still from TOPBOYLEXUS’ newest music video ‘Solo Dolo’
Did you think I was lying? No. I really wasn’t. Mans went full demon mode for this one.
In an email package to prepare to write this blog, I was sent the above image and asked: ‘what do you think is going on here?’
I had no idea what to think. In the teaser clips, the polar opposite vibes of the alternating settings and shots were initially confusing. But then I got to thinking as I listened to the song again and again.
I’m a Kid Cudi fan and couldn’t help but draw comparisons to his song of the same title which highlights his struggles with being a loner in a world that revolves on hustle and bustle, then coming to terms with it at the end.
I think LEXUS’ video is reflective of this reality as well in its own way. ‘Possessed’ by the demons that consume his mind as he navigates his way through the landscape of being a rising star. These shots are vulnerable. Clad in a white robe with matching socks, he gyrates and dances through a graffiti riddled alley surrounded by candles — begging viewers to believe this must be what is going on inside the artist’s mind as he comes to terms with selling his soul to make it.
“When I’m in the white garment, that’s me. That goes back to my roots, we used to wear them to church growing up and people would get spiritual, just like I was in the video,” LEXUS said.
On the other side we see TOPBOYLEXUS in all of his confidence and glory. As if the ‘façade’ was not a façade at all but is really who he is. On the outside he stays cool and calculated, allowing his feelings to be exposed over beats and the realities of his mind reserved to their respective visual representations.
“That’s my confidence. Me in the black suit performing to a crowd nobody sees, that’s the other side of my reality.” LEXUS added.
The project has bred a ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ complex in my mind as I watch the young artist battle with the grips of the industry and what it will take for him to make it ‘Solo Dolo’. However, it must be noted that Topboy couldn’t have made this viusual on his dolo, as Jaykaykenny, Director Sky and Dwayne Graham brought the project together as a team.
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