New York, NY (Top40 Charts) 21 year old Filipino/African-American artist Jelani Aryeh released his debut album I've Got Some Living To Do to much acclaim including from outlets like Billboard, Pigeons & Planes, FLOOD, American Songwriter and more. Today, he shares a Nathan Xia and
Cooper Roth directed video for "A Piece of Your Mind" where we see Jelani helping a friend get past a difficult argument by dancing the night away, releasing all their angst and finding solace within each other's presence.
On the video Jelani notes, "this was my first video shot entirely at night and a departure from my typical video - and it was totally worth it. My director
Cooper brought in Nathan to co-direct, who is coincidentally from the same area of San
Diego as me, so it was cool to have another artist on board to represent SD and talk about life back home and the mutual friends we have. Most of my songs are driven by narrative, but their videos are often more aesthetic-focused. This time around, we really wanted to serve the lyrics and narrative of the song as closely as we could on screen. It took a little getting used to acting alongside a co-star, especially a professional one like Maleah (Goldberg) - i was a lil' intimidated haha."
Director Nathan Xia says, "the music video for 'A Piece of Your Mind' was inspired by how I felt when I first moved up to Los Angeles from my hometown of San Diego. The large city was overwhelming, making me feel lost, alone, and took a toll on my mental health. But as time went on, I found joy, meaning, and fulfillment in the friends and relationships I made along the way. These feelings are visually explored on screen by borrowing cinematic styles, reminiscent of 90s Hong Kong Cinema. The story of 'A Piece of Your Mind' explores the idea that one never knows the demons and obstacles each individual has within their own hearts and homes. All we can do as human beings is unconditionally love, be patient with, and support one another because at the end of the day, the love you pour into someone else will always hold a piece of their mind and help them heal forever."
Jelani is not stopping and will be performing at the All Things Go
Music Festival on October 16th @ the Merriweather Post Pavilion as well as the First River Festival on October 10th. Jelani will also be playing a sold out show in Los Angeles on August 26th @ The Echo and in New York City on October 14th @ Baby's All Right.
Jelani has crafted his songwriting to greater depths than ever before with indie-pop-rock gems like "Stella Brown", "
Marigold" "From These Heights" and "
Overexposed" showing why he is one of the most exciting new artists to emerge in 2021. Standing out from the crowd in an era of memes and social media virality, Jelani brings an emotional depth, spirituality, and substance to his songs that belies his years.
