‘But I can be the Rue to your Jules’ sings the 21-year-old rapper, Lava La Rue on her new single Vest and Boxers. The video that accompanies this song takes inspiration from the show Euphoria with bold colours contrasted by the darkness of the unknown. Lava La Rue perfectly evokes the feelings of dating whilst young, those fears and takes motifs from teenage media into a distinguished music video.
The video follows Lava after waking up in the aforementioned Vest and Boxers. Then continuing through a stylized date split into scenes, continuing into Lava’s inner monologue and anxieties mixed with red lit scenes of the night before.
The drawings and art style feel like a teen movie from the early 2000’s put alongside the more modern visuals that evoke Euphoria. The video which was directed by the duo at Bedroom productions, Amir and Sorenson, feels like a mix of teen dramas that really evokes the feeling of young love but not in a saccharin way. The song’s refrains are based on questions ‘Like ooh, does she like me?’ and Lava really embodies the anxieties of dating at a young age.
Going into the inner monologue, where Lava is painted in yellow and purple stripes (a reference to the non-binary flag?), whilst rapping about sex with this unnamed partner. Lava presents a date as to what it is, the public sphere of dating whilst the private sphere is hidden away, awash with carnal wine-red light.
The song is soft and has a real bedroom bop, with the lo-fi guitar providing a warm sound that fills the mix, the drums being easily toe-tappingly infectious. Her singing feels personal, nonchalant without coming across as lazy.
Lava La Rue writes a sensual track that to evoke the feelings of lying next to a lover. At ease and without pretense, Lava La Rue is an artist to watch in the future.
Words: Peter Wellmen
