Ancient Egyptian wall tapestry, the Vitruvian Man, the Star of David, superimposed skeletons, voodoo dolls, neon lights, high priestesses, a mummy and a bottle of Martell. Believe it or not, the visuals to M.I’s just released single – You rappers should fix up your lives – features all of these.
Shot by Clarence, the alarming video features M.I as a mummy – in a preppy sense of the word – who is forced back to life, or as the lyrics suggest, out of retirement. Personally, I think this representation is no mistake. You see, typically, the Pharaohs of Egypt (who were believed to be gods) were mummified and buried in elaborate tombs. Members of the nobility and officials also often received the same treatment, and occasionally, common people. However, the process was an expensive one, beyond the means of many. Now, with the deification of his brand as the Nigerian rap ‘god’, this makes sense.
After being raised from the dead, he is casually escorted back to his throne, a platform from which he dishes out to the young rappers a severe lashing via word of mouth. One of his priestesses proceeds to dish out a more physical (at the same time spiritual) beating on the rappers, via voodoo dolls, as punishment for their lack of performance and general competence.
While I appreciate the work put into this, I cannot help but wonder if M.I took it a tad too far with this one. What do you think?