Last week, as we brought in Mother’s Day, SZA celebrated her own mother by gifting us all with a clip of her then-upcoming clip for the CTRL cut “Garden (Say It Like Dat).” Friday morning, the full video finally arrived, featuring appearances from both her mother and Donald Glover.
You’ll recall that we got to see SZA very briefly at the end of Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” music video, and as Glover returned the favor with his own presence in “Garden,” his role was a bit more prominent when he starred opposite SZA as a love interest as the two get lost in each other in an elaborate backdrop of greenery. The full video is directed by Karena Evans whose eye for the dynamic and lush particularly came into focus when she stood behind the lens for Drake’s "God's Plan" and “Nice For What” single.
The new clip arrives as the latest in an era where the expectations for music videos is once again on the rise. Evans, 22, finds herself among a wave of new directors and videographers retreating to cinematic and narrative-infused styles that accomplish what videos were always meant to in providing terrific supplement to our favorite tracks and sparking new conversation. Catch the full clip up top.