Toronto Is Dark As Hell In SAFE’s “Eternity” Video

The video for SAFE's "Eternity" begins with a clear message. The clip, reads a black-and-red title screen, is "[d]edicated to the youth of Toronto that have been lost to incarceration and gang violence, and all others that have fallen victim to unruly environments." What follows is a four-minute tour through a rarely documented side of Toronto, portrayed through grainy black-and-white landscape shots. As the song's momentum builds, so does the video's, switching from a lonely cemetery to a chaotic, unsubtle reference to policing, and then to an almost-triumphant takeover of a baseball diamond.

As the rapper has done with previous releases, SAFE uses this latest visual, produced by Toronto design studio Kid.Studio, as an opportunity to tell a different story about his city, showcasing grit where outsiders only see utopian Canadian stereotypes. SAFE explained as much in an email to The FADER: "In the reality my friends and I are from, the freedom of comfort and expression are rare. Our bodies, our homes, and our lives are policed beyond our control; it's draining," he wrote. "So this video, this song is a celebration of life. I wanted to provide a platform for my friends to receive what I have always had access to with music, which is expression without limitations." Watch above.