The first visuals to come of Rapsody’s Laila‘s Wisdom, released back in September, have officially arrived in the form of the music video for her statement track “Power.” While the cut does come equipped with appearances from both Kendrick Lamar, who returns the favor following Rapsody’s guest spot on 2015’s To Pimp a Butterfly, and fellow TDE labelmate Lance Skiiiwalker, only Skiiiwalker shows up in person for this newest clip, but the message is still heard loud and clear, without interruption.
In conveying the message of the title, the viewer is treated to a sequence of scenes that include a newborn baby, brothers of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, bare-chested men as they train, a young girl in a sunflower field, and a woman as she bows in prayer, putting on display for all to see the varying forms of power outside of stereotypes.
Directed by Cam B and Game Theory, the clip makes a transition midway through to another standout on Laila’s Wisdom, “Ridin’” as the spotlight falls on JAMLA affiliate GQ, the Oakland-bred emcee who scored a guest spot on Rapsody’s sophomore studio effort.
“Power begins from within. Power is in all of us. Power lies within you. Power is here in North Carolina. Welcome to Jamroc,” writes JAMLA label head, and producer of the cut, 9th wonder at the video’s end.
Since its release, Laila’s Wisdom has proven to be one of the North Carolina’s most impactful efforts to date, landing her on the Billboard Hot 200 Chart and elevating her buzz across all fields.
“I think just during the process of making it, we had these moments like, "Yo, this is a dope record,’” Rapsody told Billboard of the creation of the project. “I think once we put it all together and really got to live with it and listen, [9th Wonder] told me, "This is special. I think we created something really special and something that we're all proud of." Everybody said it was a really good energy."