Kwesta’s Spirit video now on VEVO
Only an hour after it’s official release on Vevo, Kwesta music video for Spirit trended at number one on Twitter. This comes as no surprise as the song which was released in late October formed part of the South African music lover’s playlist. The pseudo video alone which is almost on 3million views, reached a million views in a record breaking month after the single’s release.
Shot by the award winning production company, The Bomb Shelter Film Company (Isibaya, Yizo Yizo) and directed by Tebza (Tebogo Malope) the Spirit music video is by far the most authentic South African story told in song. Costing close to a R1 million and shot in under an hour, the video takes you to Kwesta’s neighbourhood, Katlehong where he proudly shows his humble roots. The video is being dubbed by some media outlets as a ‘love letter to South Africa’ thanks to its iconic visuals. From the spinning BMW cars on the streets of Kathlehong to the decorative porcelain dolls that were in every township home, the entire Spirit video reeks of nostalgia of growing up in South Africa at that. It not only seamlessly merges the country’s dark history with some light moments but it also explores various spiritual avenues that most South Africans subscribe to today. Regardless of where in South Africa you are from, there is something in the Spirit music video that you can relate to. It is essentially a compressed dissertation of the evolution our societies over the years and not another typical rap music video.
The beauty of the song Spirit is in that Kwesta continues to show that there is an avenue where we can curate our own sound that can be classified as hip hop. He solidifies this line of thinking by shooting the video in the township he grew up in. The cherry on top is having American rapper Wale fly down to South Africa to shoot the video with Kwesta, a first in South African hip hop.
A lot of noise has been made around the world with regards to the video including the popular British review outfit The Ubunifu Space who broke it down to in their reaction video. Watch their reaction here.
