Kenyan-American singer and producer KSL debuts today his first ever single and video. It's called "lately," and is a DIY-tinged pop track taken from his forthcoming EP Half Calf, expected sometime this month. The accompanying video, shot on vibrant Super 8 by Nico Reano, features the singer dancing in a cemetery and sitting in a bed of flowers. Watching it is all very serene, and it took two-to-three replays to realize he was singing lyrics like "True life, I hate my fucking past."
"Growing up in Tennessee I found myself sacrificing my own likes and dislikes to avoid as much racial tension as I could," KSL writes via email about the song. "So this song is about redefining my world and allowing myself to be my own person in a world bigger than rural Tennessee." Pair that with the glowy synths and his gently auto-tuned vocals, it's a lovely tune for basking in the sun, reminiscing about the past, and thanking god we got outta there.