Part of south-east London’s the Square, 19-year-old Blakie has slowly been cementing his name for over two years. As well as featuring on numerous Square tracks, Blakie is also a budding producer. He co-created the Square’s “Defeat Us” with Sammo, and produced the supremely sparse, prototype grime tune “Crime Riddim,” heard on Skepta’s Mercury Prize winning album, Konnichiwa.
Blakie’s first official video premieres today on i-D. It fully introduces the multi-talented teen as he pays homage to south London’s Brockley neighborhood over Lolingo’s (Golden Boy) boisterous beat. Featuring B&M motors, the overground, the Bob Marley mural, some bins, a bouncy castle, and Blakie as a baby, the three-minute track is brilliantly archetypal of his buoyant energy.
“I’ve lived in Brockley my whole life so it was only right to shoot the video there with all my friends. I’m always hyper and running round so I had to have my video like that so you know who I am,” Blakie tells i-D. “I like doing things organically and spontaneously; if I want to have bouncy castle in my video that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I like telling stories which is why we wanted to put the parking warden and baby scene in the video.” The track has already proven to be a live hit, with Can’t See Them setting stages alight at SXSW, Bestival, and Wireless over the summer.
“With this video I wanted to show Blakie’s energy and sense of humor. I’ve worked with him for two years and he’s the best live performer for his age,” says “Can’t See Them’s” director Peter Todd aka No Hats, No Hoods. “Some of the locations and shots were prepared in advance but some like the police just happened as we were shooting. I like showing people genuinely having fun in my videos as I think it’s something you can’t fake and people really relate to.”
Credits
Photography Olivia Rose